‘Rioters won’t be spared’: Madhya Pradesh CM on violence on Ram Navmi

A day after Madhya Pradesh witnessed violence in the city of Khargone, about 300 km from state capital Bhopal, as stones were allegedly thrown during a Ram Navmi procession, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said that “rioters won’t be spared”. “The Kharagone incident is unfortunate. Rioters won’t be spared. Strict action will be taken. They will not only be sent to jails but also made to pay for vandalising public as well as private property. We are forming a ‘claims tribunal’,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

Seventy-seven people have been arrested over the violence, state minister Narottam Mishra told reporters.  More than 20 people, including seven police personnel, were injured in the violence that broke out on Sunday in Khargone. Some vehicles were torched and houses were targeted, according to news agency PTI. The district administration had then banned large gatherings,  urging people to leave homes only for medical emergencies. 

“Seventy-seven people have been arrested so far. Superintendent of Police (Siddharth Choudhary) was injured after he was shot with a taser… can call it bullet too. Six more police personnel were injured, they are all stable. A person not from the police has a severe head injury,” Mishra told reporters on Monday. 

Another similar incident was reported during a Ram Navami procession in Sendhwa town of Barwani district where a police station in-charge and five others were injured, according to PTI. 

The district administration in a tweet said for any urgent work, except medical emergencies, one can seek permission from officials. Some school and college exams – scheduled for Monday – were postponed. 

Madhya Pradesh was one of the four states where violence was reported on Sunday amid Ram Navmi celebrations. Gujarat, Bengal and Jharkhand also registered incidents of violence.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)