Mandsaur situation 'almost normal', says official

The situation in Mandsaur, ground zero of the farmer unrest where five people were killed, was "almost normal" today and curfew might be relaxed by evening, a senior official said.

Internet services that had been suspended might also be restored, Divisional Commissioner M B Ojha told PTI.

"For the last two or three days, farmers were stopping vehicles and setting them on fire. No such incident has been reported today. The situation is almost normal," he said.

If the situation continued to be quiet, curfew, imposed in four police station areas, including Pipaliya Mandi where the firing took place, might be relaxed.

Vehicles that were burnt had been removed this morning from the highway and traffic had resumed.

Asked to comment on the post-mortem report of the five people who had been killed in firing on Tuesday, the official said the matter was under investigation. Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were both at the spot. However, he didn't divulge any details.

The investigations, he indicated, revealed that the stone-pelters included boys between the ages of 16 and about 22. Some "anti-social elements" had joined in.

Farmers in the area have been protesting since June 1 demanding a higher minimum support price (MSP) for their produce amongst other issues. However, the situation escalated on Tuesday when five people were killed.

The Shivraj Chouhan government has stepped up security in areas witnessing protests and transferred the two top officials of the district.

The Congress yesterday termed as "coldblooded murder" the killing of five farmers in police firing in Madhya Pradesh and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on it.