Section 144 in Bagli after fresh trouble

THE SITUATION in Bagli tehsil in the neighbouring district of Dewas remains tense and the administration imposed Section 144 to maintain peace. All schools have declared holiday in view of the tense atmosphere. So far 43 persons have been arrested and sent to jail.

THE SITUATION in Bagli tehsil in the neighbouring district of Dewas remains tense and the administration imposed Section 144 to maintain peace. All schools have declared holiday in view of the tense atmosphere. So far 43 persons have been arrested and sent to jail.

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After Wednesday night’s communal tension in Haatpipliya, Chapra and Shyampur, which saw violence and police firing, the trouble also spread to nearby Karnawad, Kamlapur and also the BNP police station area. However, the trouble at BNP was due to a fresh incident.

In Karnawad, some shops belonging to members of a particular community were set on fire spreading tension in the area, after there was dispute over closing shops in the market. A section wanted to observe bandh to protest against Wednesday’s incidents, while some others opposed the bandh, which led to the problem. Collector Umakant Umrao and SP I P Kulshreshtha rushed to the spot to control the situation. In Chapra, two buses were damaged by a stone-throwing mob.

In the wake of these incidents, there was tension once again at Haatpipliya. Members of one community handed over a memorandum to the Collector demanding arrest of those who had spread violence on Wednesday.

This morning there was tension in the BNP police station area after a woman of village Singhavda alleged that her neighbour, belonging to another community, had tried to molest her. On hearing the complaint, the police registered a case under Section 354 and arrested the man. However, in a repeat of Wednesday’s Haatpipliya incident, members of the saffron brigade gheraoed the BNP police station and demanded that the accused be handed over to them.

When the police refused, the agitated mob tried to disrupt work at the Bank Note Press and had to be driven away forcibly. Police also arrested 16 of them. However, some leaders of the Singhavda village, who managed to evade arrest, tried to stage a chakka jam on the main road near the village. Police arrested three of them and sent them to jail.

Ujjain range DIG Ajay Sharma said that overall 43 persons have been arrested in the past two days and sent to jail. He said 24 persons were arrested in connection with Wednesday’s incidents, while 16 persons were arrested for trying to disrupt work at Bank Note Press, nd three others for staging chakka jam on Thursday.

He said the administration had prohibited carrying of arms, holding rallies and going about in groups of more than five persons under the prohibitory orders issued under Section 144.