MP: Digvijaya ends stir after cops register murder case against BJP candidate

Chhatarpur, Nov 19 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday ended his sit-in protest outside Khajuraho police station in Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh against the death of a party worker during Assembly polls held on November 17.

A Congress worker identified as Salman Khan died after being run over by a car during a clash with Bharatiya Janata Party functionaries in Rajnagar Assembly seat.

Singh began his protest on Saturday along with party MLAs Alok Cahturvedi and Vikram Singh and had stayed overnight in a tent outside the police station.

Meanwhile, state BJP president VD Sharma, in a complaint to the Election Commission of India (ECI), claimed police had acted with bias and alleged Khan was killed by Congress candidate Vikram Singh Nati Raja to influence the polls.

Late Friday night, the police had registered a murder case against Arvind Pateria, the BJP candidate from Rajnagar constituency, and some other persons.

Talking to reporters on Sunday morning, Digvijaya Singh said an FIR was registered against 20 people in the case but none of the accused had been arrested so far and nor had the vehicle under which Khan was crushed to death confiscated.

Singh had further said Khan's family and he believed justice would not be done in the case under the state's BJP government.

"By now, at least one person should have been arrested or a vehicle or two seized. Had it been anyone else, bulldozers would have been used by now (to demolish the accused's property as has been done in a few cases by the MP government in the recent past)," he said.

BJP leaders and the government want the case against Pateria to be withdrawn, but it will not be allowed to happen as it was not an accident but murder, Singh asserted.

Singh had said the agitation would spread to other parts of the state if action was not taken, adding that Pateria was changing his statements in the case.

Meanwhile, a delegation headed by MP BJP chief VD Sharma submitted a complaint to ECI accusing the police of acting with bias against Pateria.

In the memorandum to the ECI, the BJP alleged Khajuraho police station in-charge Sandeep Khare and Chhatarpur Superintendent of Police Amit Sangh were of Congress mentality and were working to help candidate Vikram Singh Nati Raja.

Sharma, talking to reporters later, said no action was taken by the police on the complaint by Pateria, who was allegedly attacked by Vikram Singh and his supporters.

Under pressure from the Congress, the police booked 35 persons, including 20 BJP workers, for murder without any investigation, he alleged.

Sharma alleged Vikram Singh and his supporters killed Khan to influence the elections.

Sharma also asked how the (Congress') agitation outside the police station was allowed by the administration when the model code of conduct for the Assembly polls was still in force.

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police Amit Sanghi said elected representatives and the family of deceased had come to meet him and they were assured of proper action in the case.

The deceased's father Harun Khan said the sit-in has been withdrawn after the assurance from the SP.

On the other hand, Digvijaya Singh said strict action should be taken against the accused or else, if required, the agitation will be held again. PTI