Dalit village set on fire in post-poll violence in MP’s Vijaypur

Bhopal, Nov 14 (IANS) In a disturbing incident following the bypolls in Vijaypur Assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh, miscreants set fire to a Dalit village.

The incident occurred in Gohta village after voting concluded late on Wednesday.

According to information, miscreants created a ruckus in the village, pelted stones and vandalised properties.

Many terrified villagers took shelter at a local police station.

Despite the severity of the situation, there are allegations that the police have not taken any action against the perpetrators of the crime.

Vijaypur police station in-charge Pappu Singh Yadav said police teams reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

He said violence occurred following conflict between two groups.

Voting for the bypolls in Vijaypur was conducted amid mild violence, protests and allegations of booth capturing on Wednesday.

Two to three people were injured at Veerpur area in Vijaypur after a scuffle broke out between two groups during polling on Wednesday over denial of voting rights.

During the polling, candidates of both ruling and Opposition (BJP’s Ramniwas Rawat and Congress’ nominee Mukesh Malhotra) for Vijapur bypolls were put up at a guest houses due to security reasons.

Violence in Vijaypur started two days before the bye-elections when a group of miscreants opened fire at villagers, injuring three residents.

Back-to-back incidents of violence sparked outrage and calls for immediate intervention to ensure justice and security for the affected families.

Bypolls in Vijaypur Assembly seat under Morena Lok Sabha constituency of Gwalior-Chambal region were necessitated after sitting Congress MLA Ramniwas Rawat resigned from the party and state Assembly.

He later joined the ruling BJP and was elevated as state forest minister in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s Cabinet. According to the Election Commissioner, Vijaypur recorded 75 per cent voter turnout on Wednesday.

Clashes between BJP and Congress workers that began with the start of the voting, continued till the end.

Besides clashes and allegations of booth capturing, top leaders from both BJP and Congress staged protests at several places.

Congress state president Jitu Patwari and BJP state president V.D. Sharma sat on a dharna near the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s office in Bhopal, accusing each other’s party of fake voting and booth capturing.

–IANS

pd/rad