Prohibitory order against large gatherings will be imposed in Bhind and Gwalior cities of Madhya Pradesh on April 14, the day of Ambedkar Jayanti, district administration officials said on Thursday.
Violence broke out in Gwalior, Bhind and Morena on April 2, when Dalit groups across the country had called for a nationwide strike in protest against a Supreme Court order diluting the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act. Three Dalits had died in Gwalior in clashes that broke out during the protest, while four were killed in Bhind.
The decision to impose prohibitory order against large gatherings on the day of Ambedkar Jayanti was first taken in Bhind, when the district administration came across a fresh set of Whatsapp messages doing the rounds, Bhind District Magistrate Ilayaraja T told Scroll.in.
Since Whatsapp groups in the district have come under the police radar after the April 2 strike, circulation of the messages concerning the day of Ambedkar Jayanti is happening mostly through personal accounts, said a district administration official in Bhind. While Dalit groups are circulating messages about strikes to be organised again, upper caste groups are circulating messages about retaliation, the official said.
Prohibitory orders implemented under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure makes any gathering of more than four persons unlawful in an area where it is implemented by the district administration.
Gwalior District Magistrate Rahul Jain too said that prohibitory order will remain imposed in Gwalior city on April 14 but he did not comment on the messages doing the rounds on Whatsapp. However, Morena District Magistrate Aditya Pratap Singh said he is yet to take a call on the matter.
The district administrations said that they are also likely to impose internet shutdown in the districts ahead of Ambedkar Jayanti.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday asked state governments to take precautionary steps to prevent violence or incidents of vandalism ahead of the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar. The ministry said the advisory was issued in wake of reports of vandalism of statues in various parts of the country
Following the violence during the nationwide strike, the district administrations in Gwalior, Bhind and Morena had imposed prohibitory order. It was withdrawn when the situation was under control. It was implemented again on April 10, when upper caste groups called for a nationwide strike in retaliation of the Dalit protests on April 2. The internet services in these areas were suspended too.
Strikes on April 2 and April 4 were organised entirely through social media. The protesting groups had no centralised leadership or political banner, the district administrations said.
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