15 held for attack on Raje’s ‘Gaurav Yatra’

Many Cong. workers among arrested

With politics in election-bound Rajasthan heating up after disruptions caused to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's ‘Gaurav Yatra’, the police have arrested 15 persons on charges of throwing stones at her bus, modified as a “chariot”, during her public meeting in Jodhpur district’s Pipar town on Saturday night.

Jodhpur (Rural) Superintendent of Police Rajan Dushyant said a first information report had been registered against 29 persons after identifying them from photographs and video recording of the yatra. Since a couple of police constables performing the security duty were also injured, the accused have been charged with disturbing peace and assaulting public servants.

Ten of the accused were arrested on Sunday and five on Monday, while raids were being conducted at suspected places in Jodhpur and Pali districts to apprehend others. Those arrested were produced before a Judicial Magistrate and remanded in judicial custody after rejection of their bail applications.

Many of the arrested persons are active Congress workers. According to the police, they vandalised the meeting spot and tore off banners and hoarding of Ms. Raje and other BJP leaders. The protesters reportedly shouted slogans in support of Congress leader Ashok Gehlot during Ms. Raje’s address and allegedly disrupted the meeting by pelting stones on her bus.

‘Political conspiracy’

Jodhpur District Congress Committee (DCC) has taken exception to the arrest of its workers and accused the BJP government of hatching a “political conspiracy” to implicate them in the crime. A delegation led by DCC president Heera Ram Meghwal met senior police officers on Monday and claimed that no Congress worker had gone to Ms. Raje's meeting. He said the disruption was caused because of rivalry among BJP workers.