JOIN USThe Haryana Police on Wednesday filed an FIR against former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s ex-adviser Virender Singh on charges of inciting riots and also slapped charges of sedition on him.
The police also said that at least 28 people died in the violent Jat quota agitation that pushed Haryana to the brink for over eight days.
Virender has been booked on the basis of an audio-clip where he sounds like he is inciting violence while talking to a Jat leader.
Reports stated that Virender has admitted that the audio-clip does have his voice, but added that portions of the audio-clip have been tampered. Haryana DGP Y P Singal said no arrests have been made as the police was conducting a preliminary inquiry. The Congress had served a show-cause notice to Virender after the audio-clip surfaced.
Largely peaceful day
Haryana, however, remained largely peaceful on Wednesday as curfew was either relaxed or lifted in many areas.
Protests and anti-government sloganeering by traders, essentially non-Jats whose properties were reduced to ashes, have begun at many places, including Rohtak.
Haryana Food and Supplies Minister Karan Dev Kamboj said that properties of those who had indulged in unlawful acts like arson and vandalism should be attached to compensate for damage caused to public and private properties.
Kamboj described the agitation as a “sponsored movement”. “By giving full support, the Opposition, including the Congress, created problems for the people,” said Kamboj, adding that the government will unearth their identity and they would not be spared.
The government has decided to appoint former IPS officer Prakash Singh to inquire into the acts of omission and commission by officers during the agitation. Singh will submit his report within 45 days.
Meanwhile, it is still unclear if the recent meeting of the state Cabinet cleared the Rs 10 lakh compensation and employment offer for the next of the kin of those killed in the agitation. Health Minister Anil Vij’s statement on Wednesday cited three important decisions made during the Cabinet meeting but did not mention a word about the compensation.