States have been put on alert after certain groups called for a Bharat Bandh on Tuesday against caste-based reservation in jobs and education. While calls for the strike are being circulated on social media, no major outfit has endorsed it.
Schools and colleges in Gwalior, Bhind and Morena districts of Madhya Pradesh will remain shut on Tuesday, reported The Indian Express. Curfew will be enforced across Bhind while prohibitory orders will be put in place in Gwalior and Morena. Six people had died in the state during a Bharat bandh on April 2.
The Madhya Pradesh government deployed an additional 6,000 police personnel in the Gwalior-Chambal region till April 15, of whom about 4,000 are in Gwalior. “We are appealing to citizens to maintain peace and harmony in the state,” PTI quoted Director General of Police Rishi Kumar Shukla as saying. “But we are equally prepared to deal with any untoward situation.”
In Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur and Saharanpur districts, internet services have been suspended. “No big outfit has come out in support of the bandh. But we are keeping a close watch,” state Director General of Police OP Singh told The Indian Express.
In Rajasthan, mobile internet services will remain suspended in Jaipur and Alwar, reported NDTV. Prohibitory orders that ban large gatherings will be imposed, said Assistant Commissioner of Police (crime) Prafulla Kumar.
On Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs had asked all states to beef up security. The Centre said district magistrates and superintendents of police will be held responsible for any violence in their respective areas. States were asked to increase patrolling in all sensitive areas to prevent any loss of life or damage to property.
The ministry’s advisory was based on intelligence inputs, officials told NDTV. The missive came a week after nine people were killed in the nationwide demonstrations on April 2. Dalit groups had held the demonstrations in protest against the Supreme Court order on the atrocities act that protects public servants from arrest under the law without a preliminary inquiry, among other things.
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