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Cannon claims two lives in Sawai Madhopur

JAIPUR: Rajasthan villagers are increasingly proving fodder for the cannon as yet another accident involving the weapon, whose history goes back to the State’s princely days, claimed two lives in Sawai Madhopur district on Tuesday.

The embarrassing part of it for the State Government is that the cannon was ignited to welcome Rajasthan Food and Civil Supplies Minister Kirorilal Meena in Badoli village under the Vazirpur police station area when it went burst accidentally.

The Minister, who is already in the thick of the Gujjar-Meena standoff over Scheduled Tribe status for the former, did not complete his official programme scheduled at the Government school in Meena Badora village. Badoli village falls on way to Meena Badora and the villagers had kept the cannon, commonly referred to as “top”, in a field there to fire on his arrival.

The victims, Devi Singh and Murari, were first taken to the Vazirpur Government Hospital from where they were soon moved to Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur. Their bodies were later taken away from the hospital without post-mortem.

This was the third death involving the antiquated cannons this month in the same police station area and the fourth accident of its kind in the region this year.

The previous accident, which took place at Khedla Mod in Vazirpur on November 22 during an aborted march of the Meena community to forcibly open the sluice gates of the Panchna dam, led to the death one person. The other two accidents took place in neighbouring Karauli district in which one person was killed in Toda Bhim.

Congress leaders Vikram Singh Shekhawat and Giriraj Khandelwal on Wednesday demanded registration of a murder case against Dr. Kirorilal Meena as, according to them, the “illegal” weapon was fired for his welcome. The incident took place in the presence of the Deputy S.P, SHO and Sub Divisional Officer, besides several administrative and police officers but no action was being taken, they charged. The also demanded a relief of Rs.5 lakh each for the kin of the deceased.

“A cannon is not a licensed weapon yet it is a weapon as it can cause injuries and kill when aimed at someone. Nobody is making them now but they abound the old forts, including the famous Ranthambhore Fort. Most of the Government offices in this part of the State have them at the gate as decoration pieces,” noted Sawai Madhopur SP Jose Mohan speaking to this correspondent on phone.

“Firing the cannon is a traditional way of the local people, especially the Meenas, to welcome a distinguished guest,” he observed.

“It is an obsolete weapon. The people keep them for ceremonial purposes. Accidents take place when the metal is rusted or corroded or when they fill it with excess gun powder,” noted Mukesh Jindel, a leading arms and ammunition dealer here.

Last month a cannon weighing as much as 2,000 kg was stolen from Aligarh tehsil in Tonk district.

The police, however, retrieved the weapon before it was melted.

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