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Gujjar stir went out of control, Rajasthan tells Supreme Court

J. Venkatesan

Court had directed Rajasthan, U.P., Haryana, Delhi to file action taken reports

NEW DELHI: The Rajasthan Government has informed the Supreme Court that the Gujjar agitation to press the demand for Scheduled Tribe status in the State went out of control despite best efforts to control it.

Taking suo motu cognisance of large-scale violence and describing it as a "national shame", the Supreme Court on June 5 had directed the four States of Rajasthan, U.P., Haryana and Delhi to file action taken reports and posted the case for further hearing on June 18.

The Court had also sought video footage of news coverage on the agitation from various TV channels for assessment by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appointed as amicus curiae to assist it in the case. The video footage could form the basis for issuing further direction for action against the culprits, it had said.

In its affidavit filed on Friday in response to the notice issued by the Court on June 5, Rajasthan'sDirector-General of Police A.S. Gill said "during the intervening night of May 28 and 29, persons belonging to the Gujjar community started moving in large number towards the Jaipur-Agra National Highway-11 in district Dausa and Karoli from all directions on foot and vehicles, including jeeps, tractors/trollies, etc., mostly through unconventional and kutcha tracks."

"The agitators," Mr. Gill added, "regrouped time and again but after lathi charge, use of tear gas they were chased away. As the agitations grew beyond control, police had to resort to firing which resulted in the death of six persons. The agitators surrounded the police party and 97 police officers were injured, one of them succumbed to injuries."

The DGP also gave an account of the subsequent agitation till it was called off. He said a total of 2,081 preventive arrests were made; 352 FIRs were registered against the offenders; 265 accused are in jail and 68 on bail. Haryana DGP R.S. Dalal in his affidavit said a total of nine FIRs were registered in five districts of the State -- three in Kaithal and two each in Faridabad and Panipat and one each in Yamunanagar and Gurgaon. The cases were registered under various provisions of the IPC and 35 persons had been booked for indulging in violence during the agitation and for violating prohibitory orders. Apart from this, 34 additional preventive detentions were made as precautionary measures.

Delhi's Deputy Police Commissioner H. M. Meena in his affidavit said that during the violence in the Capital 54 persons were arrested and another 1,034 arrests were made as a preventive measure. In South-west Delhi due to adequate police arrangements and mobilisation of personnel there was no road blockade, rioting or damage to public property.

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