Indore Police lathicharge Bajrang Dal workers, arrest 11; govt orders probe

Police lathicharged a group of Bajrang Dal activists and arrested 11 of them in Indore city of Madhya Pradesh when they held a sit-in protest over registration of "false" cases against the outfit's members for complaining against those involved in illegal drug trade, an official said on Friday.

The incident took place late night on Thursday, he said. The Bajrang Dal workers were staging a sit-in protest at Palasia square, a busy junction in the city, which led to a traffic jam, the police said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is ruling the state, alleged that some Bajrang Dal members suffered injuries in the police lathicharge, while the party-led state government said it has taken cognisance of the protest as well as the police action, and ordered an inquiry into the entire episode.

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"A group of Bajrang Dal activists suddenly gathered at the busy intersection without any permission and staged a sit-in protest, leading to traffic jams on all four roads. When the protesters refused to budge despite repeated appeals by the police, they were moved away from the spot using mild force," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Dharmendra Singh Bhadoria said.

Eleven protesters were arrested under Section 151 (preventive arrest to prevent commission of a cognizable offence) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), he said.

Five police personnel suffered injuries while trying to control the Bajrang Dal activists during their 'chakka jam' protest, while some people also hurled stones at the cops, he added.

The DCP said that appropriate legal action was being taken in this connection. Eyewitnesses said the hour-long sit-in by the Bajrang Dal activists disrupted the traffic movement and led to long queues of vehicles at the Palasia intersection. The state's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that 11 Bajrang Dal workers were injured in the police lathicharge.

"Bajrang Dal activists were brutally lathicharged by the police, which led to 11 persons suffering injuries," BJP's Indore unit president Gaurav Randive told PTI.

He demanded that appropriate action be taken against the guilty police personnel after an inquiry into the incident. Meanwhile, talking to reporters in Bhopal on Friday, state Home Minister and government spokesperson Narottam Mishra said he has taken cognisance of the incident and legal action was also taken on the matter.

"We have also taken cognizance of the police action against the protesters and decided to send an Additional Director General of Police (ADGP)-level officer to probe all issues related to it. We have also ordered that the in-charge of the police station concerned be line-attached (removed from field duty)," he said.