MP: Three Congress Workers Arrested For Allegedly Blackening PM Modi’s Picture On Bharat Bandh

Three Congress party workers were arrested on September 11 for allegedly blackening Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s picture that was put up at a petrol pump in Mhow town of Madhya Pradesh. The incident reportedly occurred during the Bharat Bandh which was called by the opposition on Monday, September 10.

Why were the three accused arrested?

According to NDTV, Additional superintendent of Police Nagendra Singh told PTI that the three Congress workers have been identified as Pappu Khan, Ankit Dholi and Saurabh Borasi. He said, “These Congress workers were part of the protesters, who created a ruckus at a petrol pump in RCM area of Mhow town, 25-kms from the district headquarters, during the bandh.” Reportedly, the protestors had climbed a ladder to blacken PM Modi’s picture.

Singh also said that the protestors have been accused of trying to damage the property of the petrol pump owner while they were trying to shut it down as well as with the blackening, the three have tried to hurt the constitutional post of the Prime Minister. They are booked under Indian Penal Code sections 147 (rioting), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).

While the police suspect that at least five other people were involved in the act, they are trying to find those accused by scavenging through CCTV footages. Reportedly, local BJP leaders had protested against the incident in front of the police.

What happened during the Bharat Bandh?

On September 10, the Congress party and its allies had called for a nationwide shutdown following the continuous surge in fuel prices across the country. During the six-hour-long strike from 9 am to 3 pm, several parts of the country observed a near-complete shutdown of the public transport system, which caused immense trouble for the common citizens. With no public transport to rely upon, schools, colleges, shops and even businesses remained suspended for the day in Maharashtra, Bihar among other locations.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi, as well as several opposition leaders, kickstarted the nationwide bandh from Rajghat in New Delhi. They have demanded that fuel prices should be brought under the ambit of GST which would reduce the prices by about Rs 15 to Rs 18, reported Hindustan Times.

Otherwise, in Madhya Pradesh, the protests were comparatively peaceful with just over 100 arrests made during the bandh day.

The Bharat Bandh was peaceful in the state, 110-115 people have been arrested. The numbers can rise. In Ujjain, Katni and Jabalpur there had been some incidents for which cases have been registered: Makrand Deuskar, IG Law & Order, Madhya Pradesh on #BharatBandh pic.twitter.com/wqzk9ojqPz

— ANI (@ANI) September 10, 2018

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