Curfew continues in Khargone, officials deny migration of families

Khargone: Curfew continued in violence-hit Khargone city of Madhya Pradesh for the third day on Wednesday and officials denied reports that over 100 families were forced to migrate from the city.

The situation is tense but peaceful, and nearly 100 people have been arrested so far for allegedly indulging in the violence which broke out after stones were pelted on a Ram Navami procession on Sunday in Khargone, Additional Superintendent of Police Neeraj Chourasia said.

After the violence, curfew was imposed in the entire Khargone city on Sunday evening.

The curfew in continuing for the third day with relief being given only for medical emergencies, the police official said.

Asked about a memorandum submitted by Muslim clerics in Bhopal to state director general of police alleging that religious flags were put up on the wall of a mosque during the Ram Navami procession, Chourasia denied that any such thing happened.

A picture circulated on social media on the issue was not of Khargone, he said. The official appealed to people to maintain peace and not pay attention to rumours.

The clerics had also alleged the Khargone district administration demolished many houses and properties belonging to members of the minority community in a hurried action without a probe, forcing over 100 Muslim families to migrate from the city.

Meanwhile, in light of the violence in Khargone city and Barwani district on Ram Navami, the Madhya Pradesh government has issued an alert to the authorities in all districts for the upcoming festivals, state Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra said

on Wednesday.

Apart from Dr B R Ambedkar's birth anniversary and Ramzan, festivals such as Mahavir Jayanti, Good Friday and Hanuman Jayanti will be observed in the next few days.

Several festivals are to be observed in the coming days. In view of this, all districts of Madhya Pradesh are on alert. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has instructed all ministers in-charge of districts to keep a watch on the situation in their respective areas as a precautionary measure, Mishra, who is state government spokesman, told reporters.

A day after the violence in Khargone, the state police headquarters had issued orders cancelling the leaves of all police personnel in the state in view of the upcoming festivals.

Further more, the Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday posted IPS officer Rohit Kashwani as the in-charge SP of the riot-hit Khargone district in place of Siddharth Choudhary, who is on leave and recuperating after getting injured in violence during Ram Navami

celebrations.