Several incidents of violence were reported on Wednesday during a 12-hour bandh called by farmers' bodies in protest against the killing of five farmers in Tuesday's police firing in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh.
The police opened fire when a farmers' agitation turned violent. The violence also prompted the authorities to clamp curfew in the trouble-hit area. Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday sent around 600 personnel from the Central Forces to contain the farmer unrest.
Farmers in western part of the State have been protesting since June 1, demanding higher minimum support prices (MSP) for their produce, among others.
On Wednesday, protesters torched a police post at Becharikakal in Neemuch district. In Ujjain, five policemen and three farmers were injured in clashes.
In this file picture farmers protest by scattering potatoes outside Madhya Pradesh Assembly, in Bhopal.
The day also saw Mandsaur District Collector S.K. Singh being heckled by the kin of those killed in the police firing. He was escorted to safety by the police, witnesses said. After this, farmers allegedly heckled Superintendent of Police Omprakash Tripathi. They also pelted stones, the witnesses added.
The relatives of those killed and other villagers staged a road block at Berkheda Panth, demanding the visit of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Former MP and Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan was stopped and detained at Nahargarh when she was on her way to meet the family members of the deceased.
Ujjain Range Inspector General of Police (IGP) V Madhukumar is camping in Mandsaur to monitor the situation, a senior police official said.
Rahul Gandhi to visit Mandsaur
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is expected to visit Mandsaur. "He is likely to visit Mandsaur on Thursday," Jaivardhan Singh, son of All India Congress Committee general secretary Digvijaya Singh said.
Congress activists burning an effigy of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, during the bandh in in Bhopal on Wednesday.
