The Madhya Pradesh Police on Friday arrested a man accused of firing at Superintendent of Police Siddharth Chaudhary during the communal clashes in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone city on April 10, PTI reported.
The accused, Mohsin aka Waseem was arrested from the Kasrawad police station area, Inspector General of Police Nimar Zone, Tilak Singh told PTI. Mohsin already has four cases registered against him, including those related to assault and sale of illegal arms.
“The police will interrogate the accused to collect information about his accomplices,” he said to PTI.
On Thursday, police had arrested five persons for allegedly killing Ibraish Khan during the communal clashes. Khan, who was initially reported missing, is the lone reported casualty of the violence which had left 24 people injured, including Chaudhary.
The officer is currently on leave, undergoing treatment for the bullet injury in his leg, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, the curfew in Khargone was relaxed on Saturday for nine hours – from 8 am to 5 pm. The city has been under curfew since the clashes. Since April 14, the administration has been relaxing curfew for two-hour intervals, PTI reported.
Grocery and milk shops, vegetable shops, pharmacies, and barber shops are allowed to stay open, but places of worship will remain closed, the city administration said in an order. The curfew relaxation will not apply to markets, petrol pumps and the sale of kerosene at shops.
The communal violence
On April 10, some people had allegedly hurled stones at a Ram Navami procession, objecting to loud and provocative music being played in the Talab Chowk area of Khargone. Subsequently, clashes broke out in the Gaushala Marg, Tabadi Chowk, Sanjay Nagar and Motipura areas.
At least 24 people were injured in the violence. Ten houses were also burnt during the clashes.
On April 11, the Madhya Pradesh government demolished homes and shops belonging to Muslims in Khargone. Deputy Inspector General of Police Khargone Range, Tilak Singh, claimed that the homes that were demolished belonged to those who had thrown stones during the procession.
On April 12, the state government set up a two-member claims tribunal to assess the damage caused by the communal violence.
The police on Thursday arrested five persons for the murder of Ibraish Khan during the violence, identified as Dilip, Sandeep, Ajay Karma, Ajay Solanki and Dipak Pradhan.
The accused persons were residents of the Anand Nagar-Rahimpura area, a communally sensitive locality. Rohit Kashwani, superintendent of police said that the accused have confessed to the crime and have also been identified by witnesses. Khan died due to serious injuries to his head caused by stones.
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