The police in the Harda district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday lobbed tear gas shells, fired water cannons, and resorted to lathi charge to disperse an unruly mob of the Karni Sena during a protest staged by the Sena in support of its demand for the release of the Harda district Karni Sena president arrested during a protest earlier on Saturday.
The police and district administration authorities detained at least 50 activists during the protest and dharna.
According to the police, the protesters had gathered in a large number, demanding the release of Karni Sena Harda district chief Sunil Rajput, along with other leaders, including Ashish Rajput. Sunil and Ashish were arrested on Saturday after leading a protest over a case of Rs 18-lakh fraud lodged by Ashish Rajput against one Mohit Verma and 0wo others.
The police arrested Mohit Verma, but when he was being produced in a court on Saturday, the Karni Sena activists reached there, demanding that the police hand over Mohit Verma to them. They staged a violent protest, for which Sunil, Ashish, and some more activists were detained.
In response, the Karni Sena activists staged another protest and road blockade on Sunday with a demand for the release of their leaders.
According to Harda Collector Siddharth Jain, the officials had asked the protestors to end the road blockade peacefully. But when they refused to move, the administration used water cannons to disperse them. After that, tear gas shells were fired. The police also carried out a cane charge to break the sit-in.