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HomeIndiaUgly clash between women officers and pro-CAA protesters in MP's Rajgarh

Ugly clash between women officers and pro-CAA protesters in MP’s Rajgarh

In 2 viral videos, MP's Rajgarh district collector and deputy collector can be seen slapping protesters at pro-CAA rally. They say no permission had been granted for rally.

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New Delhi: A BJP-led rally in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act turned ugly in Rajgarh district of Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh Sunday after a clash broke out between the district administration and the protesters.  

In a viral video, District Collector Nidhi Nivedita can be seen slapping a BJP worker. Another video from the same rally, reported by news agency ANI, shows Rajgarh Deputy Collector Priya Verma making her way through the crowd, dragging protesters and slapping them as many of them refuse to budge and sit on the ground with the national flag in their hands.

— ANI (@ANI) January 19, 2020

Towards the latter half of the video, Verma’s hair can be seen being pulled, though it is unclear who is tugging at it.

Speaking to ThePrint, Nivedita said the agitators took out the rally without permission. “We had imposed Section 144 on Saturday. Despite the administration explicitly denying permission to hold a rally, these people went ahead with it anyway,” she said. “This is when our deputy collector and other officials went there to stop the rally.” 

“They started manhandling her (the deputy collector) and pulling her hair,” she added.

In the video, however, Verma is seen dragging the protesters and slapping them before her hair is pulled. Nivedita said Verma was “well within her rights” to do so according to Section 129 of the Code Of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

“According to the section, the administration can use mild force against a crowd that is showing determination to not disperse,” Nivedita told ThePrint. “I am convinced that if we didn’t use minimal force, the situation would only have aggravated.”

She added that the mild force used “doesn’t warrant Verma’s hair being pulled”. 

The collector also told ThePrint that 10 people have been arrested while an FIR has been registered against 124 people for violating Section 144.    


Also read: RSS wants national debate on population control, but will focus on creating awareness first 


BJP rally that didn’t have permission

The pro-CAA rally was led by three BJP members — former MLA Amar Singh Yadav and party leaders Mohan Sharma and Dilbar Singh Yadav. They agreed that they didn’t have permission to take out the rally but did so anyway.

“Our permission was denied, so we took out a peaceful rally in support of the CAA anyway. We were shouting slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram. But we were stopped midway,” Amar Singh Yadav told ThePrint.

He added that he was slapped by officials who also grabbed him by the neck.

Vande Mataram bolna gunah hai kya? (Is it a sin to shout Vande Mataram?” Yadav asked.

He denied all allegations of kicking and manhandling the deputy collector, and also alleged a “political agenda” behind him being targeted.

“The Congress party is using the administration to target us,” he said. 

Nivedita, however, denied the allegation. “We have denied permission for several anti-CAA rallies too. This is because Rajgarh is a communally sensitive district,” Nivedita said. “And we have told everyone to hold rallies after 26 January to avoid any flare up.” 

The incident drew condemnation from former BJP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He tweeted that it was a “black day”.

 

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, meanwhile, tweeted that he was proud of the two women officers.

 

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1 COMMENT

  1. So, now the jholawallahs at The Print suddenly remembered that BJP in MP had no permission for the protest, but forgot all about permissions for the anarchist CAA protests in other states?

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