Police firing kills two in Rajasthan

Tension prevailed in Manohar-thana town of Jhalawar district when two persons belonging to the Bhil tribe were killed and another one got injured in police firing. Hundreds of armed Bhils, gathered to protest the rape of a tribal woman by three persons from a minority community, turned violent and clashed with the police on Monday afternoon. Around 25 policemen also suffered injuries in the clash and were admitted to the Jhalawar hospital for treatment. Heavy police force, including additional policemen from Kota, have been deployed in the area to prevent further violence.
Over 500 Bhils were holding a mahapanchayat 4 km away from Manoharthana to protest the September 17 rape. When police tried to stop some of them from entering a nearby minority colony, the protesters turned violent. When the agitators could not be controlled, the police opened fire. Three tribals were hurt and two of them succumbed to their injuries later. IG (Kota range) Rajeev Dasot told TOI that the police had immediately registered a case and arrested the three persons accused of rape within 24 hours. However, the Bhils still went ahead with the protest.
"In order to prevent bloodshed and control the mob, we had to open fire during which three tribals sustained injuries, out of which the condition of one was critical," he said. CM Ashok Gehlot, after talking to Manoharthana MLA Kailash Meena, announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next kin of the dead, and government job to a member of their families. Gehlot also said that the divisional commissioner would conduct inquiry into the incident. Former CM Vasundhara Raje criticized the incident and said the state government was busy in meetings while the public was dealt with firing and lathicharge.