MP bandh against Maha clashes turns violent

BURHANPUR (MP): POLICE OFFICIALS SAY PROTESTERS DAMAGED BUSES PARKED AT INTERSTATE BUS STAND AND ALSO TRIED TO

SET THEM ON FIRE

A bandh called in Burhanpur town in Madhya Pradesh to protest Bhima Koregaon caste clashes in Maharashtra’s Pune district took a violent turn on Thursday with a mob allegedly damaging 12 vehicles and stoning trucks plying on Ichhapur-Indore state highway.

The shutdown was called by Dalit groups—the Buddhist Society, Bhim Sena, and other outfits—against the Monday’s violence at Bhima Koregaon village and nearby areas in Pune district during an event to mark the 200th anniversary of a battle between Peshwas and British forces.

The shutdown has affected normal life in Burhanpur town.

Burhanpur district shares common border with Jalgaon, Amravati, Buldhana, and Akola districts of Maharashtra, which witnessed protests during the bandh called by dalit groups on Tuesday.

A senior police official said on the condition of anonymity that the windowpanes of 11 private buses parked at the inter-state bus stand and the windshield of a truck were broken by unidentified persons in the noon.

Eye witnesses said that some people gathered at the bus stand and vandalised the buses.

They also said that the mob attempted to torch a bus but was chased away by police personnel present at the spot.

“Unknown people broke the window glasses of 11 empty buses and a truck at the bus stand,” superintendent of police Pankaj Shrivastava said.

However, the police official denied that any attempt was made to set any bus on fire.

According to eye witnesses, stones were hurled at least six trucks on Ichchhapur-Indore state highway as a result of which traffic came to a standstill briefly.

When asked about the highway incident, the superintendent of police Shrivastava denied the reports.

He said the situation was under control now.