A day after Meena and Gujjar youths entered into a violent confrontation during the student union elections in the state, people here woke up amid fear, panic and a sense of insecurity.
An agitating group, who according to local people were Gujjars, set fire to six new buses on Sunday morning including four at Bhandarez Mode and two at Sikandara. Two bikes were also set on fire. The administration imposed Section 144 of CrPC in and around Dausa town. So far, 24 people allegedly responsible for Saturday’s violence were arrested. The youths who set fire to the vehicles in the wee hours of Sunday alleged that the rival Meena group and their students had gone berserk on Saturday during elections.
“Ladna hai to humse lado, bachchon aur mahilaon ko kyon tang kiya (If you want to fight you fight with us, why touch women and children),” said Sevaram Gujjar who was participating in an agitation at Bhandarez Mode.Similarly, the agitating members of Gujjar community alleged that during the student union polls, the Meenas targeted their houses.
“Our house has turned into ashes. If such thing can happen in student union elections, I wonder what will happen in the assembly or Lok Sabha polls,” said Ram Singh Gujjar, whose uncle’s house was completely destroyed.
On the other hand, confusion prevailed especially among truck drivers and passengers travelling on Agra Road to places like Mehandipur Balaji as Gujjar community members set fire to buses and blocked the National Highway 11 from Bhandarez Mode and Sikandara circle. They remained stranded on the highway since morning and were able to move ahead only at 6 pm when the jam was cleared.
Since 6 am in the morning, a long queue of trucks and other vehicles was seen on National Highway 11 from Kanota near Jaipur. Neither police nor any local villagers were there to clear the confusion.
However, there were reports that agitators near Sikandara pelted stones on buses going to Agra in the evening.
Inspector general of police, Jaipur Range, Saurabh Srivastav, on the overall situation, said: “Except a few incidents and highway jam, the day went off peacefully. We have cleared the NH 11 and are into patrolling to maintain law and order.”
After a meeting, district collector Muktanand Agarwal and superintendent of police, Dileep Jakhar along with tear gas vehicles and a large convoy of police vehicles rushed to Bhandarez Mode at 11 am. However, judging the situation in which at least 500 miscreants were present on the spot, they opted to stay back on the premises of Navodaya Vidyalaya, almost a km from Bhandarez Mode. “We are trying our level best to ensure that the traffic on the highway gets restored,” said Agarwal.
Both SP and collector through local intelligence units were trying to gather the information on the activities of the agitating groups. Suddenly, they were informed that Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla, who was going to Bassi near Jaipur, could come and talk to them. “We have spoken to him and urged him to tell his men to clear the road blockade,” Agarwal added.
In the morning, violence-hit areas including Indira Colony wore an empty look except for a few onlookers who came to see the houses on fire. “It is a shameful act. They misbehaved with women, looted the house and set almost everything on fire,” said Girdhari Gujjar, a resident of Indira Colony. The main market of Dausa town remained closed throughout the day where a good number of policemen cordoned off the area.
Unlike Saturday, the train movements were smooth with all important trains passing through Dausa and Bandikui moved as per schedule.
src: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Fear-grips-Dausa-as-six-more-buses-bikes-torched/articleshow/22059886.cms