MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari, others court arrest in ‘Nyay Satyagraha’ rally

The opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh held a ‘Nyay Satyagraha’ rally at Ashok Nagar on Tuesday, and several leaders, including MP Congress president Jitu Patwari, MP Assembly Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar and others courted arrests.

The rally was held in protest against the FIR registered recently against Patwari. Addressing the rally, Patwari stressed the importance of standing firmly with their values and fighting for the party’s principles.

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SDOP Vivek Sharma announced the arrest of Patwari and other leaders and workers participating in today’s protest. They were, nonetheless, released after a short while.

The FIR against Jitu Patwari was registered on 27 June on charges of allegedly luring a man to lodge a false complaint, including the charge of being forcibly fed human excreta, against two persons of a village in the Ashok Nagar district of the state.

Surprisingly, the complainant against Patwari is the same man who had approached Patwari three days ago requesting the Congress Chief for help in regard to the same matter.

According to information, the man, Gajraj Lodhi of village Moodrara Badwah, had alleged on 25 June that a fellow villager, Vikas Yadav, and his accomplices thrashed him, damaged his motorcycle, and also forced him to eat faeces.

Some Congress leaders of the area took Lodhi to meet Jitu Patwari at nearby Orchha town. Patwari had then assured all help to Lodhi and even called up the Ashok Nagar Collector in the matter.

However, on 26 June, Gajraj Lodhi bactracked and reportedly submitted an affidavit with the Collector stating that no incident of being forced to eat human excreta had happened with him.

Lodhi also alleged that Patwari lured him to make such a false statement by promising to give him a motorcycle and money in return. Following that, an FIR was registered against Jitu Patwari at the Mungaoli police station.

According to the police station in charge, Joginder Singh, the FIR has been registered on charges of attempting to spread animosity between castes and communities based on fabricated and manipulated statements.