29 arrested for nude protest that sought action over fake caste certificates

Chhattisgarh: The protestors were demanding action against the government employees who forged SC/ST certificates to get recruited

RAIPUR: A group of men staged a nude protest in Raipur on Tuesday demanding action against people who allegedly got government jobs using fake caste certificates, a protest that coincided with the start of the four-day monsoon session of the assembly.

(Twitter/Videograb)

Police later said 29 people have been arrested in this connection

The protestors were demanding action against the government employees who forged SC/ST certificates for various posts in the state.

The youth said they were from the scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) communities, carrying placards with messages demanding action against government employees who used fake caste certificates to get jobs.

One of the protesters told reporters that the state government’s enquiry committee conducted a probe into fake caste certificate cases and found that 267 government employees used forged SC/ST certificates. But no action was taken against them so far, he said.

The man said they earlier went on a hunger strike to seek action against them but they weren’t heard. “Hence, we are now staging a naked protest. We demand that the fake caste certificate holders be arrested and the authorities seize property they have acquired,” he said, warning of more fierce demonstrations if the demands are not met.

Raipur superintendent of police (SP) Prashant Agrawal said the protesters were taken into custody for staging a demonstration in an obscene manner”.

Police later confirmed the arrest of 29 people. A case in this connection was registered against them at Vidhan Sabha Police station under sections of the penal code and the information technology law.