KHANDWA: The MP Police in connection to communal violence incited in Khandwa detained Independent Councilor Ashfaq Khan and his aide Umed Khan. State Home Minister in a press briefing on Tuesday informed that the duo were detained and booked under the National Security Act (NSA).
“Asfaq and his associate have been booked under NSA. It has been found that Ashfaq has a criminal history. Police have been directed to take strict action against all those involved in inciting violence in Khandwa. I have directed the police to find out the involvement of Ashfaq in other such incidents in the past. There is no room for violence in Madhya Pradesh and those who try to disturb peace and harmony will be punished,” Mishra said.
Section 144 was imposed in parts of the district following an unrest that prevailed after a burqa clad girl was seen with two of her male Hindu friends in a cafe. As per various reports, a mob comprising Muslim men thrashed two Hindu men for sitting with her.
Videos of the mob assaulting the two men and the girl have been circulated on social media.Khandwa Superintendent of Police Satendra Shukla told the media that the two male victims are in the same educational institute as the girl; one of them is a school lab teacher, while another is a student.
On the statement of the girl, four men have been booked under charges of uttering obscene words, causing hurt, threatening with death and crime done by a crowd with common intention.
An first information report (FIR) was filed in the case (148/2023 at Moghat Road police station of Khandwa). They asked the girl why she was hanging out with Hindu men when there was no dearth of Muslim men, the statement says. The girl identified the four men as Azhar Ali, Shadab, Mohsin and Irfan.
Reports added that the protests were staged on the same night headed by Ashfaq Sigad who along with his supporters filed a case of molestation against the two Hindu men. The crowd pelted stones at the police station and shouted slogans against the police accusing them of biased action. Police used mild force to disperse the mob, after which heavy police were deployed in the area.