Bhopal, Apr 26: Congress leader and former MLA PC Sharma said here on Saturday that over 50 persons were injured in the police lathi charge when they demanded 35 kg foodgrains under the 'Annapurna Yojna'.

He demanded magistratial inquiry into the incident and punish the guilty officers for the lathi charge. He also demanded from the state government to issue orders to provide 35 kgs of food grains at the rate of Rs 3 per kg wheat and Rs 4.50 per kg rice.

He said that the state government was giving 35 kg of food grains at the rate of Rs 5 per kg wheat and Rs 6.50 per kg rice. The total bill of the foodgrains was Rs 183 per month. At the same time, when the state government reduced the price of wheat to Rs 3 per kg and rice to Rs 4.50 per kg, the cost at the fair price shop comes to Rs 69 for 20 kg of food grain. Since the families have to purchase 15 kg wheat from the market at the rate of Rs 12 per kg, the total bill of food grains per month has gone up to Rs 249, he said.

In a statement issued here, Sharma said that the police used force to remove people on the direction of the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The police arrested a large number of poor and sent them jail while about 250 were taken in police vehicles and dropped outside the city on the Indore Road, when they were agitating under the leadership of Sharma.

When the poor demanded 35 kg of foodgrains, the police lathi charged them. 'The pomp and show of the state government for inauguration of supply of food grains at lower rates is just an eye washing', he said.