Madhya Pradesh unrest: Vandals damage 36 cars in Mandsaur, police says bid to fan communal tension

Mandsaur: Unidentified persons damaged windscreens of 36 cars parked at different places in the town on Wednesday morning. Police suspect this was done to create a communal tension as vandals targetted vehicles of a particular community. [caption id=“attachment_3750469” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Following the incident, angry vehicle owners blocked the main road at Kotwali area seeking action against the miscreants. Police suspect that the incident was a handiwork of some mischief-mongers who wanted to create a communal tension in Mandsaur which was the epicentre of the farmers’ stir earlier in June. “Unidentified persons broke the windscreens of 36 cars parked outside the houses around 2.30-3 am at different places in the town,” Kotwali inspector Vinod Kushwaha said. He said the incident provoked the car owners who drove down to Kotwali area with their damaged vehicles and blocked traffic for some time in the noon. Kushwaha said acting on a tip-off given by an auto driver that some people were damaging the cars, the police chased a motorbike, but two persons riding it managed to escape. He said that police were going through the footage of CCTV cameras installed on roads to identify the vandals. Around five persons might be involved in the incident, according to the officer. “They targeted vehicles of a particular community, with an aim to create a communal tension. The attack seems meticulously planned as it was carried out within 30 minutes,” said another police officer. He said a similar incident had taken place in 2016 but refused to elaborate. Earlier this month, Mandsaur witnessed a clash between the police and farmers, resulting into the death of five farmers in firing by police. Meanwhile, some right-wing organisations organised a rally in the city this evening demanding the arrest of the accused immediately. District Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Singh said he has appealed to people to maintain peace as efforts are on to trace the vandals.