A week after the horrifying attacks on the Kanwar Yatris in the city of Jaipur by a violent Muslim mob, the city police have decided to extend Section 144 of the CrPC till Friday, August 23 midnight. As per the latest figures, the police have rounded up 149 people and more arrests are likely to be made, said police sources.
ADG Ajay Pal Lamba has been quoted by Times of India saying, “The restrictions have been continued to maintain law and order in the city, especially in the areas which were hit by violence last week.”
2 days back, section 144 implementation was increased until August 21. The restrictions have now been extended for another two days.
In what appeared as a hate-crime against Kanwariyas in Jaipur on Monday, August 12, a Muslim mob had hurled stones and attacked a bus carrying Kanwariyas which was on its way to Haridwar. More than a dozen buses were lit on fire injuring more than 30 Kanwars during the incident.
According to the reports, the incident occurred on the day of the Eid festival, when a Muslim mob got into an argument with Kanwars. At the night, as Kanwars began their journey towards Haridwar to continue their annual Kanwar Yatra, a large angry Muslim mob gathered near Idgah at Delhi Road and allegedly resorted to stone pelting on the bus and later torched the bus damaging more than 10 buses.
The violence inflicted on Kanwar Yatris had come a week after the Congress government in Rajasthan passed a stringent anti-mob-lynching bill in the assembly. Rajasthan CM and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot had brought the bill against mob lynching because it felt that the current provisions in the Indian Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code were not ‘adequate’ to deal with mob lynching incidents.
