Sanvrad a fortress as cops arrest 226

VIOLENT PROTESTS HAD ERUPTED DURING A RALLY IN THE VILLAGE ON WEDNESDAY WHICH WAS HELD TO PAY TRIBUTE TO ANANDPAL, WHO DIED ON JUNE 24

days after the cremation of slain gangster Anandpal Singh, his native village of Sanvrad in Nagaur district is still under heavy security cover.

For the third consecutive day, the village remained under curfew, although it was relaxed for two hours on Saturday.

“The curfew was relaxed from 10.30am to 12.30pm on Saturday. The village is still under heavy security cover and no untoward incident was witnessed,” said Indraj Marodiya, station house officer, Jaswantgarh police station.

Violent protests had erupted during a rally in the village on Wednesday which was held to pay tribute to Anandpal, who had died in a police encounter on June 24 in Churu district. One person died in the violence and more than 30 have been injured.

At present, apart from the district police, 13 battalions of the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary have been deployed in Sanvrad.

The police said that more than 200 people have been arrested and taken into preventive custody. “We have arrested 226 people for violence that had erupted during the rally. Most of these people are from outside Nagaur. Those arrested are from Jodhpur, Bikaner and Sikar,” said Marodiya.

The violence during the rally had resulted in an angry mob burning the railway station and torching vehicles of the district superintendent of police. The SP was also beaten up and the mob misbehaved with a lady IPS officer. The rally had more than 60,000 people which took the police by surprise as they didn’t expect such a large gathering.

A senior police official told HT that around 25,000 people from Nagaur joined the rally, which contradicts intelligence reports.

Meanwhile, Brahmin outfits have slammed the police for not cremating the body of Lalchand Sharma, a native of Haryana, who died during the violence after the rally on Wednesday.

Suresh Mishra, state president, Sarb Brahman Mahasabha, said that the Mahasabha demanded a compensation of ₹1 crore for the family along with government jobs for his relatives.