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Covid-19: Sanitation workers, survey team attacked in Madhya Pradesh
The Dewas incident, which took place on Friday, went viral on social media. In a video the sanitation workers, who are at the frontline combating the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in the country, are seen being abused and attacked by a group of people.
Three persons were arrested in connection with an attack on sanitation workers in Dewas, 153 kilometres south-west of Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, on Friday while a state health department’s survey team was attacked in Indore, the neighbouring district of Dewas, on Saturday, said officials.
The Dewas incident, which took place on Friday, went viral on social media. In a video the sanitation workers, who are at the frontline combating the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in the country, are seen being abused and attacked by a group of people.
Sajjan Singh Mukati, inspector of police, Khategaon, Dewas, said, “The complainant Ashish, a resident of Rajaur village, has complained that he along with his colleagues, Deepak and Chunki, was cleaning a drain in Koyala locality when one Aadil Khan and some other people attacked him with sharp weapons on the pretext that foul smell was emanating in the area because of the cleaning exercise. Khan also attacked Ashish’s colleagues.”
A First Information Report (FIR) has been lodged against Khan, his brother Arif and their father Habib. Aadil and Habib were later arrested from a jungle near Sannaud village, while Arif is still absconding, the inspector said.
Additional superintendent of police Neeraj Chaursiya, Dewas, said, “The name of Gop Khan, the head of the local mosque committee, was added to the FIR and he was charged with committing a crime under section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as the arrested accused told the police that they were instigated by Gop Khan to attack the sanitation workers. He has been arrested and sent to police custody.”
In a separate incident, on Saturday, a state health department’s survey team in Indore, a Covid-19 hotspot, was allegedly attacked at a locality after two similar attacks were reported in the city within a fortnight --- one on a health team and another on police – amid the state government’s bid to contain the spread of the viral outbreak.
Saturday’s incident took place in Vinoba Nagar locality following which several health department employees gathered at Palasia police station and demanded action against the guilty, the officials said.
The survey team in-charge Dr Praveen Chourey said, “Our three-member team was working in the area when one Paras, who has criminal antecedents, attacked us with stones. He slapped us as well. He attacked some local residents with a knife. He also damaged the mobile phone of Vandana, one of our team members.”
Harinarayan Chari Mishra, deputy inspector general (DIG) of police, Indore, said, “There was a dispute between two neighbours in the locality around the time when the survey team reached there. The accused thought that the woman team member was recording their dispute on her mobile phone. Hence, he snatched the phone and damaged it.”
Additional superintendent of police, Indore, Jaiveer Singh Bhadauria, said, “Teams have been dispatched to arrest the accused.”
Earlier, on April 2, two lady doctors and some other health department’s team members were attacked with stones in the city’s Tatt Patti Bakhal area.
Later, seven local residents were arrested, and four of them were booked under the National Security Act (NSA).
A team of police personnel was also attacked on April 8, leading to five arrests, of whom four are facing charges under the NSA.
(With inputs from Nitin Gupta in Dewas)
