Vehicles were set on fire, stones were thrown at police personnel – who retaliated with a lathi charge and a volley of tear gas shells – and the highway between Tonk and Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan was blocked Thursday afternoon after police arrested ex-Congress leader Naresh Meena.
The violence carried over from late last night, when police tried to arrest Meena – an independent candidate in the Deoli-Uniara by-poll who was caught on camera assaulting a district official.
And what could not be done last night – amid more stone-pelting and arson – was managed this morning, after a “strategic” op by a large team of senior police officers and cops in full riot gear.
Meena confirmed to NDTV he had been picked up by the cops but then “abandoned” after his supporters’ violent reaction. He even claimed to have acted heroically in saving some cops. “I did not run away… the police left me behind due to the stone-pelting. In fact, I saved some policemen.”
#WATCH | Rajasthan by-poll independent candidate from Deoli-Uniara, Naresh Meena allegedly physically assaulted SDM at a polling station in Samravata village
Vehicles vandalised and torched in Samravata village after the incident. pic.twitter.com/dv8jLnymh2
— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) November 13, 2024
He claimed he spent the night in the village “protected” by his supporters, who were only overcome after a heavy police force swung into action in this morning. The eventual arrest in the afternoon was shortly before he declared “I will not surrender” and told his followers to “surround the police”.
READ | “Won’t Surrender”: Drama As Cops Arrest Naresh Meena In ‘Slap-Gate’
That call was heeded. After his arrest cops and Meena’s supporters clashed on the Tonk-Sawai Madhopur highway amid piles of burning straw, with the latter attacking even journalists.
Ajeet Shekhawat, a reporter for the Press Trust of India, was attacked and his camera and mobile phone were snatched and broken. He was admitted to a local hospital for treatment.
#WATCH | Tonk, Rajasthan: Supporters of Naresh Meena set fire on the state highway outside Samravata village, to protest against this arrest. pic.twitter.com/NU5lX2OP3I
— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2024
A fresh influx of police was required to re-establish law and order. A top cop told NDTV over 60 people have been arrested so far and “trouble-makers” are being identified and detained.
All of this began Wednesday after Meena assaulted Sub-Divisional Magistrate Amit Choudhary during polling for the Deori-Uniara by-poll; a widely-circulated video showed Meena grabbing Choudhary by the collar and smacking him twice before being restrained by the cops.
VIDEO | Rajasthan Official Slapped By Independent Candidate Outside Booth
But the shocking incident angered state officials, who went on a ‘pen-down’ strike across the state that effectively brought all government work to a standstill. Meena’s assault and the violence it triggered also provoked a political spat between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress.
Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot hit out at the BJP, claiming the party had encouraged Meena to stand as an independent candidate after he had been suspended by the Congress. Meena was suspended last week over a dispute about the party’s nominee – Kastur Chand Meena.
READ | Days Before By-Poll, Congress Suspends Rebel Leader Naresh Meena
“How did he (Meena) have the courage to do such a thing? This was not a minor incident. When there is no fear among people because they take the law into their hands… this is the situation in the state today,” he said, alleging the BJP had backed Meena’s bid to split its rival’s votes.
However, BJP leader and Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Kirori Lal Meena hit back, claiming Meena had received that encouragement from within the Congress.
Either way, Meena’s arrest has opened a can of worms. On investigating his record, the cops have found 23 cases filed against the former Congress leader, of which only seven have been completed. Most of these cases are about damaging public property and attacking government officials.
Two pertain to the severe assault of a cop and a village chief in his home district.
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