Indefinite curfew imposed after yesterday’s clash between cops and protestors in which five persons were injured over an old issue of alleged cow-slaughtering on Eid day was continued in two villages of Hanumanagarh district in Rajasthan on the second day on Thursday.
Internet services have been suspended in two villages Chiryagandhi and Gandhibari, adjoining the Haryana border, and 65 miscreants who were protesting on roads near the bus stand in Chiryagandhi where they were holding sit-in were arrested, an SHO of Police Station Om Prakash Suthar told SNS here.
The situation is under control in the curfew-bound areas as 300 jawans of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary were patrolling in the twin villages and there was no curfew relaxation there today, SHO said.
Five persons including three cops (SHO himself) received injuries in stone pelting by the protestors on Wednesday evening that prompted the district administration to impose an indefinite curfew, he said.
When contacted the Director General of Rajasthan Police M L Lather told SNS that despite ensuring action against the alleged cow-slaughters and nine person arrests from the particular community, they (Hindu religion) were creating law and order problems for the last two weeks by organizing rallies and ‘bhajan-hanuman path’ etc. Hence the curfew was imposed and internet services were snapped for a few days, he said, adding the situation would be normal there soon.
Actually, the social atmosphere in Chidiyagandhi village has been tense since July 21. Villagers allege that cow slaughter was done here on the occasion of Eid. That has also been confirmed in the FSL report. Villagers were staging a sit-in here demanding action against cow slaughter. Meanwhile, the atmosphere deteriorated after the agitators were driven out of the protest site on Tuesday and Wednesday.
When the villagers took out a rally against this excess on Wednesday afternoon, the police resorted to lathi-charge for violating Section 144. After stone pelting, lathi charge and tear gas shells were also lobbed.