IPS Officer Rahul Kumar transferred days after foiling riot plot in Ratlam, booking Hindutva leaders
Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh): In a controversial development, IPS officer Rahul Kumar Lodha, who successfully prevented a communal riot in Ratlam on September 7 and booked 13 leaders from right-wing groups, was transferred within two days of the incident.
The attempted unrest began when right-wing groups in Ratlam spread rumors of stone-pelting on a Ganesh idol during a procession. In response, the group raised provocative slogans outside a police station, pelted stones at the police, and later targeted Muslim neighborhoods. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rahul Lodha acted to prevent the situation from escalating further, registering cases against 13 leaders involved in the incident, including several with criminal histories.
While the police were quick to intervene and control the situation, some members of the group who had participated in the Ganesh procession gathered at the police station, demanding that an FIR be registered. The mob became violent, vandalizing vehicles and shops in the Hathikhan area, prompting the police to use force to disperse them. Following this, the police registered a case against unidentified individuals, which included the name of Jalaj Sakhla, the district vice president of the BJP Yuva Morcha.
Hindu organizations, expressing dissatisfaction with the police action, submitted a memorandum protesting the booking of their leaders while criticizing the police for not identifying the alleged stone pelters. They warned of further agitation if the authorities failed to act against those responsible for the initial stone pelting within 24 hours.
Later that night, around midnight, in a sudden administrative reshuffle, SP Rahul Lodha was transferred from his post in Ratlam to SP Rail, Bhopal. Narsinghpur SP Amit Kumar was appointed as the new SP of Ratlam. Lodha’s transfer has sparked outrage among many citizens, with netizens praising his efforts to prevent communal violence and suggesting that his removal was politically motivated.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
ALSO READ: Why remove Mahatma Gandhi's name, asks Priyanka on move to replace MGNREGA
The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
