BJP protests over murders in Madhya Pradesh

“It’s unprecedented, it has never happened in MP,’’ former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday, the day when another person linked to the Opposition party was allegedly found murdered in Gwalior district.

Chhatarsingh Rawat’s body was found in a river bed in Belgada Police Station area. BJP spokesman Lokendra Parasher said the victim was the brother of BJP leader Narendra Singh Rawat. Mandsaur Nagarpalika president Prahlad Bandhwar was killed in Mandsaur on Wednesday and BJP Mandal president Manoj Thakre was found murdered in Balwadi village in Barwani district on Sunday.

Barwani is the district to which Home Minister Bala Bachchan belongs. The home minister insinuated that in both the murders, the accused also belonged to the BJP. Other ministers have alleged that the murders were the result of an internal feud between BJP workers.

Taking exception to the home minister’s comments, the BJP state president called them shameful. He said the home minister has already indicated that the probe will progress in a particular way. He alleged that the Congress government was bent on creating an atmosphere of anarchy and that the Maoist problem was raising its head again in the state and that SIMI functionaries were being released.

Taking a dig at the Congress campaign slogan of “wakt hai badlav ka” (it’s time for change), Chouhan alleged that the change has emboldened criminals in the state and law and order machinery has collapsed. He demanded a CBI probe into the Mandsaur murder, questioning the official version that the killing resulted from a dispute over Rs 25,000. Mandsaur police have arrested Manish Bairagi in connection with the murder. Bairagi, who allegedly shot dead Badhwar, is a member of the BJP.