A day after the violence, arson, and stone pelting was reported in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone district during a Ram Navmi procession, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said that “rioters won’t be spared”.
Chouhan told ANI, “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 vandalizing public as well as private property. We are forming a ‘claims tribunal’.”
Minister Narottam Mishra told reporters that seventy-seven people have been arrested over the violence and more than 20 people, including seven police personnel, were injured in the violence.
“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 a bullet too. Six more police personnel were injured, they are all stable. A person not from the police has a severe head injury,” Mishra said.
According to reports, vehicles were also torched and houses were targeted. The district administration had then banned large gatherings, requesting people to leave homes only for medical emergencies.
Gujarat, Bengal, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh are the four states where violence was reported on Sunday amid Ram Navmi celebrations.
