The Madhya Pradesh Police on Monday imposed section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in Khandwa city after a few people from the other community tried to create communal tension by pelting stones at the Police station followed by a kidnapping incident. The accused in the case have been identified as Kaharwadi ward councillor Ashfaq Sigad and his associate Umed. The duo has been arrested and booked by the police under National Security Act.
The saga began on Sunday when a Muslim girl was celebrating her birthday with two of her male friends in a cafe in the Anand Nagar area. A group of Muslims saw the scenario and approached the Hindu boys. Later the Muslims engaged in a brawl with the girl and then abducted the two men. According to the reports, the men were taken by the Muslims to a place near Dargah in the Khanshahwalli area.
The girl then happened to call the police who reached the spot and saved the two abducted men. The duo was brutally beaten by the accused persons, Mohammad Irfan and Azhar Ali who abducted them. Based on the complaint filed by the girl and two men, the police happened to register a case of kidnapping and thrashing and booked 16 persons belonging to the Muslim community. The FIR was registered at the Moghat Police Station.
The Police immediately jumped into action and detained two of the 16 persons named in the FIR. They also launched a manhunt to nab the rest of the accused who went absconding after the FIR was registered. Following this, the enraged Muslim crowd led by Kaharwadi ward councillor Ashfaq Sigad reached the police station and surrounded it demanding the release of the two accused detained in the case of thrashing and kidnapping.
The Muslim group also raised slogans and pelted stones at the police station. The stones were also pelted in the Gandhi Nagar area of the city. The mob also threw stones at the policemen. After this, the police forcefully dispersed the crowd. Several Police officers have been deployed in sensitive areas and main intersections in the city and section 144 also has been imposed.
In the case of stone pelting, cases have been registered against 15 others including Ashfaq s/o Arif Sigad resident of Kaharwadi, and Mohammad Umed s/o Mohammad Ejaz, resident of Chhipa Colony under Sections 353, 332, 147, 148, and 149. Meanwhile, Ashfaq and Umed have been arrested. The Police are checking the CCTV footage installed at the police station and looking for the other accused involved.
Reports mention that the accused named Ashfaq, who pelted stones at the policemen, has a criminal record. In the year 2020, a case was registered against him in the SC-ST Act including section 302 of murder and section 307 of an attempt to murder. Similarly, in the year 2021, cases were registered under sections 294, 323, 324, 147, 148, 452, 307, and 506. In the year 2020, a case was registered under Section 188, 506, and in the year 2022 under Section 188. Most of the cases are of Kotwali police station.
Notably, shortly after the stone pelting incident on Sunday, unknown people who were standing near the gate of Gandhi Nagar assaulted Waqar’s son Istekhar Ahmad resident of Doodh Talai. Waqar claimed that he and his companions, Abdulla Qureshi and Seemanaz, were beaten up without any reason. All three were beaten with plastic pipes. Along with this, they were threatened to be killed, as per Waqar.
However, the Superintendent of Police, Satyendra Kumar Shukla has appealed to the residents not to pay heed to any rumors. “Certainly those who are troublemakers give birth to such rumors and then try to vitiate the atmosphere of the city. The police are fully active and are with you. If any person takes the law into his hands, action will be taken against him. The general public should not pay attention to any kind of rumor. Don’t get confused by the number of rumors circulating on social media. The atmosphere of the city is peaceful,” he noted.
He said CrPC Section 144 has been imposed in the city till further orders as some people tried to create communal tension. “The situation is now peaceful,” he added.
