Police Attack on Bhopal Dalits

Bhopal: Prakash Chandra Ambedkar, MP, or Jan.30 severely criticised the BJP Government I Madhya Pradesh for unleashing a reign of terror on scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the State. Speaking to newsmen here he said that a glaring example of these atrocities was the police attack on peaceful demonstrators of Ambedkar Nagar on Jan. 13 when several of them were severely beaten up. He said atrocities on SCs and STs were on the rise in the State. He demanded the dismissal of the Collector and Superintendent of Police, Bhopal, and other lower ranking officers for illegal confinement of several followers of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and torturing them in custody. Some anti-social elements had removed the statue of Dr. Ambedkar in Ambedkar Nagar in the city. The followers of Ambedkar were agitating for the arrest of the culprits and compensation for the installation of a new statue. While the Government had accepted the demand for compensation, it failed to take any proper action against the miscreants, they alleged, and also that the police gave protection to the miscreants. On Jan. 13, they took out a procession to press their demands. Police tried to stop the march and later the situation took an ugly turn with a massive lathi-charge on the peaceful percussionists.