The Hindu : Many hurt in firing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2003

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Other States - Rajasthan

Many hurt in firing

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR SEPT. 16 . Over a dozen people sustained injuries when the police fired on an angry mob in Aklera town of Jhalawar district this afternoon. A total of 25 rounds were fired to quell the mob, injuring at least one person seriously, when tear-gas and lathi-charge reportedly did not work.

The incident was said to have been provoked by Bajrang Dal activists who had insisted on travelling on two buses belonging to the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation(RSRTC) without ticket to attend their programme, "Raksha Sankalp Sutra Karyakram'' in Jhalawar town the same day.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, who was accompanying the party president, Sonia Gandhi, on her tour of Nagaur and Jodhpur today, ordered the suspension of Aklera's Sub-Division Officer, Kailash Yadav, the Deputy S.P., Harish Ratnu and the SHO, Sitaram Meena, for "improper handling'' of the situation. The Commissioner of the Division, Manohar Kant, has been asked to conduct an enquiry into the incident.

Trouble started when around 200-250 people tried for a free ride in the two buses parked at Aklera town and the drivers of the buses took the vehicles along with their occupants to the police station. The intervention of the police did not apparently help but provoked the Bajrang Dal activists to resort to a road bloc.

The police tried bursting of tear gas shells as some other locals joined the agitating crowd. According to official sources the firing took place around 2 in the afternoon when the baton charge on the mob did not make them disperse. The police fired eight rounds first and then followed it up with another 17 rounds.

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