Jaipur violence: As tensions continue in Rajasthan's capital, Muslim organisations prepare to stage dharna today

On Friday, one person was killed in Jaipur’s Ramganj area when police opened fire on a mob after it went on a rampage, setting ablaze a power house and several vehicles, following an alleged assault of a couple by a constable, the police said. As the district administration on Sunday lifted the ban on mobile internet services from 50 out of 64 police stations in Jaipur, Muslim organisations are all set to stage a dharna in Rajasthan’s capital to demand justice for the civilian killed in Friday’s police firing. In a bid to maintain the law and order situation in the city, internet services remained suspended in 14 police stations till Monday. There was no relaxation  in curfew in Ramganj and its adjoining areas. [caption id=“attachment_2606612” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] A 24-year-old man, Raees, died while six policemen were injured after violence erupted  on Friday night as protesters gathered at Ramganj police station. Following an inconclusive meeting with the authorities on the incident, Muslim organisations decided to hold a dharna on Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg on Monday, reported  The Indian Express _._ A delegation of community leaders, led by former state minister Duru Miyan, had met the commissioner and the district collector on Sunday to place their demands on behalf of Raees’ family, but were dissatisfied with the response. Family members of Raees have refused to allow an postmortem of the body. Demanding a compensation of Rs 1 crore, government job, reported  Hindustan Times , the family has also asked for suspension of the staff stationed at the Ramganj police station. Neither Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, nor state home minister Gulab Chand Kataria have given any statement addressing the issue.

Since Friday, normal life has been affected in many areas of the city. Amid the demand for justice for Raees, the policemen on Sunday distributed milk and bread with the help of NGOs in some curfew-hit areas,  The Times of India  reported. The locals, however, had mixed reactions to the gesture since the police were also on the receiving end of flak.

The incident occurred on Friday when a policeman had tried to stop a motorcycle in the Ramganj area when the rider tried to escape but the policeman managed to hit the pillion rider, who was taken to a police station. Hundreds of people gathered at the police station after the incident. The police tried to pacify them but failed. A mob damaged two dozen vehicles and torched four others, including an ambulance and police bus, besides setting ablaze a power sub-station. There were also reports of stone pelting in some areas of the city and the police, as a preventive measure, had fired in the air to control the violent mob.

Ramganj has a prominent Muslim population. While several residents raised concerns about the insensitivity of the locality’s police officials, commissioner of police Sanjay Agarwal, speaking to  The Wire , said that there was nothing wrong with what the police had done. “It was an unfortunate incident but the situation is under control. We have full proof that the police behaved properly that day,” he said. Following the incident, curfew was imposed in four police station areas of the city – Manak Chowk, Subhas Chowk, Galta Gate and Ramganj police station area till Saturday. With inputs from agencies