CM orders judicial probe into violence, raises posthumous relief to Rs 1 crore
With farmers’ protest spreading beyond Mandsaur — where five protesters were killed in an alleged police firing on Tuesday — Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday chaired an emergency Cabinet meeting and announced a judicial probe into the violence and declared a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the kin of each of the deceased persons.
“It’s an unfortunate episode and I express heart-felt condolence to the kin of the deceased. A judicial probe has been ordered to ascertain how the farmers died,” said Chouhan, who also promised Government jobs to the dependents of the deceased.
State officials said that Rs 1 crore is an unprecedented amount of compensation, but it didn’t seem to have mollified the farmers, with widespread violence being reported from western Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. Fresh incidents of violence and looting of vehicles carrying essentials goods were reported from various parts of the State, including Indore, Ujjain, Ratlam, Harda, Dhar, Jhabua, Khargone, Mandsaur and Neemuch. The administration has blocked internet services as protesters and anti-social elements are allegedly using social media for inciting violence.
Farmers in large numbers blocked a road in Berkheda Panth area, around 18 kms from Mandsaur on Wednesday. When Mandsaur Collector SK Singh and Superintendent of Police Omprakash Tripathi reached the spot to mollify the protesters, the farmers allegedly manhandled the administrative officer. When contacted for his reaction, the collector refused to comment on the incident. He said the situation in Mandsaur is under control.
Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh have been protesting since June 1 demanding cost-based returns for their produce, including higher minimum support prices (MSP) for their produce, as well as waiver of loans totaling around Rs 45,000 crore.
The Madhya Pradesh bandh called by the Congress on Wednesday affected some western parts of the State, but petrol pumps, markets and other establishments remained open in Bhopal.
With most of the slain farmers hailing from the powerful Patidar community, the ruling BJP, which has been facing the wrath of the same community in Gujarat, is bound to be at the receiving end of the community in the coming local body elections which will possibly be held in July in Madhya Pradesh.
Former leader of BJP’s Kisan Morcha and Patidar community leader, Neemuch-based Prem Patidar, said the compensation of Rs 1 crore was an eyewash. “We have lost young people of our community in firing and we are ready to pay Rs 2 crore each for punishing the guilty policemen,” he told PTI.
“With the firing incident, Chouhan’s so-called image as Kisan-Putra (farmer’s son) has taken a severe knocking. I had been saying that massive corruption plagues the farm sector under his rule. Now my stand is vindicated,” Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh’s national president Shivkumar Sharma alleged.
According to eyewitnesses, the protesting farmers had torched vehicles and indulged in stone pelting in Parshvanath area under Pipaliya Mandi police station limits in Mandsaur. Curfew remained in force in Pipalya Mandi police station area of the district and Mandsaur town, while prohibitory orders restricting movement under Section 144 of CrPC are also imposed in the rest of the district.