The Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday, 19 April, announced financial relief worth Rs 1 crore for people whose property was destroyed in the communal violence during Ram Navami celebrations in Khargone, reported news agency PTI.
District Collector Anugraha P told PTI,
“The administration had conducted a survey and sent a report to the state government, which has allotted Rs 1 crore.”
The financial assistance will be based on the survey conducted by the Khargone administration and immediate relief will be provided to those whose houses, shops, vehicles were destroyed in the violence.
The government has also eased curfew hours, from 8 am to 12 noon, allowing ration shops and medical stores to remain open during the curfew. As per the government order, petrol pumps will remain shut and the sale of kerosene suspended at the fair price shops under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Violence in Khargone
Stone pelting and arson were reported during a Ram Navami procession in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone on 10 April. Sources told The Quint that when procession was being taken out, people allegedly belonging to the Muslim community took objection to the music being played in the celebratory march, following which the matter escalated and stone pelting began.
The Madhya Pradesh Police said that over 44 First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered and 148 arrests have been made so far in connection with the incident.
Further, a day after the communal unrest on Ram Navami, the local administration on Monday, 11 April, undertook a demolition drive in areas where the violence had erupted.
16 houses and 29 shops, mostly owned by members of the Muslim community, were demolished by the administration, citing their involvement in the clashes as the reason.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)