Agencies
Bharatpur, May 24:
Four columns of army (about 800 troops) were deployed in Bayana town and nearby villages of Philpura, Dhumaria, Karvaria where the situation continued be tense, Bharatpur District Collector T Ravi Kant said.
Army was deployed this morning in violence-hit Bayana town in the district and nearby villages where clashes between Gujjars demanding Schedule Tribe status and police left 15 people dead.
Four columns of army (about 800 troops) were deployed in Bayana town and nearby villages of Philpura, Dhumaria, Karvaria where the situation continued be tense, Bharatpur District Collector T Ravi Kant said.
As a precautionary measure, prohibitory orders have been promulgated in Dholpur, Sawaimadhopur, Karauli, Bharatpur and Jaipur districts, official sources said in the state capital.
Fifteen people, including a policeman, were yesterday killed in police firing and clashes between members of Gujjar community demanding Scheduled Tribe status for them and the men in uniform at Bayana.
The police opened fire when the protestors torched two police jeeps and attacked and clashed with them in Karwar area in Bayana block of the district while a policeman was lynched by the mob.
The clashes broke out as protesters gathered at Dumariya in support of a 'rail roko' call given by Rajasthan Gurjar Arakashan Sangarsh Samiti leader Bainsla to press for granting them Scheduled Tribe status to Gujjars.
Besides army, about 200 additional Rapid Action Force (RAF) and 300 CRPF personnel were called out for deployment in the violence-hit area to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order.
Rajasthan government has ordered a judicial probe into the police firing.
Alert in MP after Gujjar stir
Morena: In wake of the ongoing Gujjar agitation in neighbouring Rajasthan, high alert has been sounded in the border districts of Madhya Pradesh to check any spread of violence.
Additional police forces have been deployed in Morena and Chambal, keeping in view large number of Gujjars residing in the region, official sources said here on Saturday.
Police were also keeping a strict vigil on the Rajghat bridge on the highway of Rajasthan border, they said.
This has fuelled anger among the community members, who have decided to assemble at Gwalior today alongwith the bodies of those killed in the agitation, the sources said.
Taking all these into consideration, the state police and administration have sounded a high alert, they added.
Resolve Gujjars' issue: Maya
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Saturday condemned the attacks on Gujjars and appealed to the Rajasthan government to resolve the issue in consultation with the Centre.
"I appeal to the Rajasthan government to resolve the issue of Gujjars by negotiating with the Central government," Mayawati told newspersons here.
Condemning the police firing on Gujjars who were agitating in Bharatpur on Friday, she said her heart went out to the people killed and injured in the incident.
She extended her condolences to the bereaved families and urged the Rajasthan government to extend adequate relief to the victims of police firing.
BJP shifts exec meet from Jaipur
New Delhi: The outbreak of Gujjar violence on Saturday forced the BJP to shift its National Executive meeting from Jaipur to Delhi, upsetting its plans to use the conclave to launch a high-voltage campaign in poll-bound Rajasthan. The three-day Executive, scheduled to begin from May 31, will now be a two-day affair and would be held here on June 1 and 2.
Interestingly, this is the second time the party had to shift the National Executive meeting from Jaipur. Last year also the party had to move its National Executive from Jaipur to Delhi in the wake of the violent Gujjar agitation demanding Scheduled Tribe status for the community. The decision to shift the National Executive was taken at a meeting of the office bearers here, chaired by party chief Rajnath Singh and attended among others by senior leader L K Advani and Jaswant Singh. The return of the Gujjar agitation, barely months ahead of the Assembly polls, has put the party in a spot of bother as it may affect its prospects.
"Any trouble during the National Executive could have attracted the media attention and fuelled negative publicity," a senior leader remarked. The party also wanted to use the Executive platform to project unity in the faction-ridden Rajasthan state unit where a rebellion against Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had been simmering for long.
Print This Page
Terms
and Conditions