Bhopal, December 22
Curfew was imposed on Morena town today after activists of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) indulged in large-scale violence in protest against the murder of former state BSP President P.P. Chaudhari and his son last night. Joura, a tehsil of Morena district, was also brought under curfew.
P.P. Chaudhari, along with his son Hitendra, was going on a motor cycle from Morena to his village, Ramchandra Ka Pura, when he was ambushed near Joura crossing, about 25 km from Morena, by around five persons travelling in a jeep. They fired at the two from close range and drove off.
While Chaudhari died instantaneously, his son succumbed to the gun wounds at a Gwalior hospital later. The BSP activists set shops on fire and damaged vehicles both at Morena and Joura last night and this morning.
A large number of Chaudhari’s supporters assembled at the Morena railway station this morning and pelted several passing trains, including Shatabdi Express and Utkal Express, with stones.
As many as 15 passengers of the Agra-Gwalior passenger train were injured in the attack, while a 12-year-old boy and a shopkeeper were injured when an angry mob looted several shops in the Uttampura area and set them afire, SP Ravi Gupta said.
The agitators pelted Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi Express with stones and attempted to set a goods train on fire, following which trains through Morena were halted for a few hours, sources said adding that a GRP post was also ransacked.
The police fired teargas shells and opened fire at four places — Singhal Basti, Uttampura, Gopinath Ki Pulia and Khakhi Baba Ki Gufa — to disperse angry crowds, he said.
The major clash between the members of two communities was reported from the Gopinath Ki Pulia area, the SP said adding that security had been beefed up in the city.
Angry mobs also stopped traffic on the Agra-Mumbai National Highway at several places and broke windscreens of over 10 buses and trucks, Gupta said.
Chaudhari’s younger son Piyush had eloped with a girl of an upper caste and married her some time back despite stiff opposition from the girl’s family.
The police suspected that the girl’s family could be behind the murder.
While no formal arrest had been made so far, the police said around five persons had been taken into custody for questioning.
Furnishing details about the clash, the police said 12-year-old Ramswaroop Dhobhi, who was injured in police firing, was admitted to the hospital where his condition was reported to be stable.
The police was deployed at the railway station where the mob had ransacked the GRP outpost, they said.
Telephone lines to most parts of the city were also disconnected after angry crowd set afire distribution junctions in the Rui Mandi, Lohia Bazaar and Phatak Bahar areas, SDO R. Birkharia said.
