MP: Colours thrown at Jain group, 14 booked

SAGAR/BHOPAL: Tension erupted in Madhya Pradesh’s Prithvipur town in Tikamgarh district after a few people from another community allegedly threw colours at a Jain community’s religious procession on the occasion of Holi on Friday evening, police said, adding there were clashes reported between the two sides.

Police said they have booked 14 people for rioting and other sections of the Indian Penal Code. Heavy deployment has been made in the town following the incident and police force from nearby localities has also been brought to keep the situation under control.

Prithvipur police station officer CS Parashar said on Friday evening that a procession of the Jain community was returning through the main market area in the town when the incident broke out.

“In the market area, some people from the other community were celebrating Holi. When someone from them threw colours on the procession, clashes between the two sides broke out with several members of the Jain community complaining they were beaten up.”

Parashar said a case has been lodged against 14 people under IPC Sections 147 (rioting), 294 (obscene acts and songs), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).

Late on Friday night, after the case was lodged, people from the other community also reached the police station in significant numbers to lodge a counter complaint against the members of the Jain community, police said.

“We have taken their complaint. The investigation is going on. After a thorough investigation, action will be taken against the guilty,” Parashar said.