Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 14: Amidst high drama, the Rajasthan police on Thursday managed to arrest an independent candidate for the Deoli-Uniara state Assembly seat by-election Naresh Meena who allegedly slapped a sub-divisional magistrate in full view of camera crews outside a polling booth during the polling in the constituency in Tonk district on Wednesday.
Mr Meena was arrested in a ‘strategic’ operation carried out by senior police officers who were seen wearing protective vests and helmets while marching down a rural road. Moments before the arrest, Meena called on his supporters to “surround the police and block the traffic.”
His arrest sparked violence with vehicles set on fire, stones thrown at police personnel – who retaliated with a lathi charge and a volley of tear gas shells – and the highway between Tonk and Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan was blocked Thursday afternoon.
The violence carried over from late last night, when police tried to arrest Meena and what could not be done last night – amid more stone-pelting and arson – was managed on Thursday morning, after a “strategic” op by a large team of senior police officers and cops in full riot gear.
Mr Meena, a Congress rebel contesting as an Independent, caught SDM Malpura, Amit Chaudhary, by his collar and slapped him, an official said. Mr Chaudhary was trying to get more people to vote in the bypolls since locals had boycotted polling over a demand to include Samravta village in Uniara sub-division instead of in Deoli. Mr Meena was supporting the villagers.
The incident led to tension in the area with vehicles being torched, police being pelted with stones and 60 people arrested. About 60 two-wheelers and 18 four-wheelers were torched in the violence that erupted outside the polling booth as police personnel tried to remove Meena and his supporters who sat on a dharna in Samravta village in the Deoli-Uniara assembly constituency.
The Rajasthan Administrative Services (RAS) Association called for a pen-down strike and government work was affected for some time in the morning. Four cases were registered against Mr. Meena, including for disrupting public work and damaging public property.
Mr Meena claimed he spent the night in the village “protected” by his supporters, who were only overcome after a heavy police force swung into action in this morning. The eventual arrest in the afternoon was shortly before he declared “I will not surrender” and told his followers to “surround the police”.
That call was heeded. After his arrest cops and Meena’s supporters clashed on the Tonk-Sawai Madhopur highway amid piles of burning straw, with the latter attacking even journalists. Ajeet Shekhawat, a reporter for the Press Trust of India, was attacked and his camera and mobile phone were snatched and broken. He was admitted to a local hospital for treatment.
Mr Meena’s assault and the violence it triggered also provoked a political spat between the ruling BJP and the Congress. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot hit out at the BJP, claiming the party had encouraged Meena to stand as an independent candidate after he had been suspended by the Congress. Meena was suspended last week over a dispute about the party’s nominee – Kastur Chand Meena.
“How did he (Meena) have the courage to do such a thing? This was not a minor incident. When there is no fear among people because they take the law into their hands… this is the situation in the state today,” he said, alleging the BJP had backed Meena’s bid to split its rival’s votes. However, BJP leader and Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Kirori Lal Meena hit back, claiming Meena had received that encouragement from within the Congress.
Either way, Meena’s arrest has opened a can of worms. On investigating his record, the cops have found 23 cases filed against the former Congress leader, of which only seven have been completed. Most of these cases are about damaging public property and attacking government officials.
Meena, a former Congress leader, was recently sacked from the party over his decision to contest as an independent after it nominated Kastor Chand Meena over him for the Deoli-Uniara bypoll.
SP Tonk, Vikas Sangwan said, “He (Meena) was asked to not take the law into his hands and surrender. Initially, he was not in the mood but seeing the police force, he agreed. He will be charged under the relevant sections.”
The police claimed that there was a ruckus and incident of stone pelting and arson when they tried to arrest Meena in the Tonk district yesterday. “Older records will be opened and arrests will be made accordingly. 50-60 people have been detained in this case so far,” said the officials.
