Hyderabad: Three Muslim men who have been in jail since March 5 have been named on the list of Ram Navami riot-accused persons in Madhya Pradesh (MP)’s Khargone. Following the riots that took place on Sunday, the house of one of the men accused of rioting was demolished on 11 April, along with 16 other houses.
The people who are named in the case are Shabaz, Fakru, and Rauf. The three were falsely charged for rioting in Khargone during Ram Navami celebrations on 10 April.
According to a report by the NDTV, the trio has been in jail since their arrest last month but has been accused of setting a motorbike on fire on April 10 in Sendhwa of Barwani district. They have been charged with rioting at the same police station where they were charged with attempted murder.
When asked about the lapse, the police officials at Barwani said that the case was filed based on the statement of the complainant.
“We will investigate the matter and take his information from the jail superintendent, the case has been registered on the basis of the allegations of the complainant,” senior police officer Manohar Singh was quoted by NDTV.
Meanwhile, Shahbaz’s mother Sakina alleged that no notice was served to her before her house was bulldozed by authorities.
“The police came here, my son is in jail for almost one and a half months. He was arrested after a fight but the police came and threw us out, my child is in jail so I want to ask why the FIR was registered against him. We told the policemen that he is in jail but no one was ready to listen to us. We folded our hands, apologized. They have taken my younger son also,” NDTV quoted Sakina.
In the violence on Ram Navami in Khargone, at least ten houses were set on fire, and more than two dozen people were injured, including Khargone Superintendent of Police Siddharth Choudhary.
While MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated to set up a claims tribunal and take action against rioters, home minister Narottam Mishra issued a warning, saying, “Jis ghar se pathar aaye hain, us ghar ko hi patharon kaa dher banaenge (We will turn the houses where stones were pelted into a heap of rubble).”
Following this, the district administration on Monday carried out a demolition drive, razing 16 houses and 29 shops in five localities of the town, including Shahbaz’s, who was in prison at the time of the riots.
