Collector's office building -left, vehicles torched outside the premises -right
Chhattisgarh police have apprehended ten more accused in connection with the Balodabazar violence that rocked the state on June 10 after hundreds of rioters torched several government offices along with vandalising vehicles in joint collector’s premises in Balodabazar town.
Those who have been nabbed by the police include Rajkumar Jangde, state president of Bhim Army. Jangde was said to be absconding after the violence and separate teams of police were looking for him in different states as well. He has been reportedly arrested from Jharkhand.
The development occurred hours after police apprehended a total of 7 more accused including a National Student Union of India (NSUI) member, Suryakant Verma who was reported to be a part of the mob that barged in the collector’s premises during the protest called by the Satnami community on June 10.
Verma had allegedly stolen a phone from the site of violence which has been successfully recovered by the police upon his arrest. With the fresh arrests made by the police, the total tally of the arrested accused in the case has mounted to 148 while a total of 13 separate FIRs have already been registered into the matter.
This comes a day after the District Magistrate (DM), Deepak Soni and Superintendent of Police (Sp), Vijay Agarwal jointly held a press briefing on Monday and shared the details of the progress made in the case.
The officials informed that initial estimate of the damage done during the violence in the collector’s premises stand at around Rs 12 crore while the damage done in the other part of the town is being estimated.
A total of 240 vehicles have been damaged during the violence, this includes a total of 31 private and government four wheelers and 60 two wheelers which have been completely charred in the arson incident. Additionally, a total of 27 four wheelers and 122 two wheelers have also been damaged partially into the violent act, informed DM, Soni.
Chief Minister Sai assure action against miscreants
Earlier Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on June 24 also interacted with a delegation of prominent personalities of the Satnami community and asserted that his government is doing everything possible to establishing the rule of good governance in Chhattisgarh by walking on the path shown by revered Guru Ghasidas ji Maharaj, the founder of the Satnami sect.
The delegation includes of Satnami community’s religious Guru, Baldas Saheb, Aarang MLA, Guru Khushwant Saheb and other dignitaries of the Satnami community.
Notably, Chief Minister Sai in a post on social media platform X on Monday had said that “those spreading poison in the society will be dealt with strictly”.
Thanking the Bahujan Samaj Party’s supremo, Mayawati for condemning the miscreants involved in the violence, CM Sai in his tweet stated that “the state of Chhattisgarh is an island of peace and every effort will be made to maintain it, maintaining peace in the state is the priority of our government”.
Violence during the protest in Balodabazar town
Notably, an agitated mob of protestors on June 10 set ablaze several government offices and hundreds of vehicles in joint collector’s office premises by breaching the security installments over vandalism of the ‘Jaitkham’, a sacred symbol associated with the Satnami community near Amar Gufa in Mahkoni village of Giroudpuri on the intervening night of May 15-16.
The protest was called almost a fortnight after the members of the community expressed their disagreement over the initial arrest made by the police in connection with the vandalism episode at Amar Gufa on May 15-16.
Significantly the police had arrested three individuals in the case and claimed that the accused had carried out the provoking act in drunken state as they were unhappy about not receiving their wages from one of the contractor of the village.
However, the theory given by police did not bode well with the community members, who while refuting the arrests made by the police demanded a higher enquiry into the matter and warned for continuation of protest in case of inaction.
The community members then assembled in the Dussehra ground to mark their protest against the vandalism episode on June 10. However a significant chunk of the protestors soon barged in the collector office premises after their agitation escalated dramatically and became uncontrollable.
The demonstrators also vandalized vehicles on their way to the collector’s office, where they set ablaze dozens of four-wheelers parked in the premises. Hundreds of two-wheelers stationed near the premises were also vandalised by the mob who had a brief altercation with the police personnel trying to contain the violence.
Action taken by police
The violence unfolded in the town prompted major action by the police who soon launched a crackdown to nab the culprits behind the mayhem. As of now a total of 148 people have been so far arrested by the police in connection with the violence including one of the key accused Kailash Navrange, the state president of an outfit namely ‘Bhim Krantiveer’.
Read more at: Police apprehend key accused in Balodabazar violence case
Navrange was apprehended by the police from Phallari village on June 19, after the latter received credible intel about his presence in the village. His arrest come amidst preliminary reports pertaining to violence hinted about the possible involvements of certain groups who were instrumental behind the escalation of violence.
Judicial Inquiry Commission
It must be noted that earlier Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai had also constituted a single member judicial inquiry commission to investigate the vandalism incident that unfolded on the intervening night of May 15-16 in Giraudpuri.
The commission headed by retired judge of Bilaspur High Court, C B Vajpayee has been assigned with the task of investigating the vandalism incident on six points including the possible causes leading to the incident and the situation that unfolded aftermath. For the work assigned, the commission has been provided with a time frame of three months to submit its report to the government.
It is worth mentioning here that the State of Chhattisgarh has a significant population of the Satnami community who follows the teaching of revered social reformer and spiritual awakener of medieval era, Guru Ghasidas Ji Maharaj.
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