2017 Mandsaur violence: Cops to close cases against 1,500 farmers

INDORE: Police have prepared closure reports in 64 cases of the 2017 Mandsaur violence, saying there is no evidence against the accused. This could lead to charges being dropped against 1,500 farmers.
The Madhya Pradesh Congress on Wednesday announced through Twitter that the process of withdrawing cases, as promised by CM Kamal Nath, has begun. “In 2018 assembly polls, we had promised to withdraw false cases registered against farmers.In police investigation, 64 such cases have come to the fore and closure reports have been submitted in court,” PCC media coordinator Narendra Saluja told TOI on Wednesday.
Sources say Mandsaur police have found no proof in cases of rioting and violence registered against 4,000 people, 1,500 of whom are local farmers and the rest unidentified.
During the 10-day-long farmers’ agitation in Mandsaur — about 200km from Indore — five people were killed in police firing on June 6, 2017, and another protester had died in an alleged police lathicharge at Daloda, about 20km from the flashpoint.
100 cases filed at police stations in Mandsaur
Local police had registered over 100 cases at various police stations of Mandsaur, mostly for arson, damage to public property and violence. SP Hitesh Choudhary told TOI, “After the incident, police investigated over 100 cases of violence. In cases where no substantial proof was found against the accused, police stations have submitted closure reports in court. It is for the judiciary to decide the next course of action. In the remaining cases, investigation is either underway or police have submitted the case diaries.”
The bulk of the cases in which closure reports have been presented are from Pipliyamandi area — 49 in all. Of the rest, three cases each are from Bhavgarh and Nahargarh police stations, and two each from Shamgarh, Suwasara and Nai Aabadi.