Ban On Gatherings In Madhya Pradesh City After Protest Over Kidnappings

Police have imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa city, to bar the assembly of four or more people, after stone-throwing following an incident of kidnapping, officials said on Monday. Tension prevailed after a group of people staged a protest at Moghat police station, besides the stone-throwing incident in Gandhi Nagar area on Sunday, they said.

Some people tried to create communal tension, but the situation is now peaceful, a senior official said.

A girl was sitting with two men in a cafe in Anand Nagar area on Sunday when a group of people allegedly kidnapped the two men, as per police sources.

After getting information on Sunday afternoon that two men were kidnapped from a cafe, police rescued them, Moghat police station in-charge Brijbhushan Hirve said.

The police registered a case on charges of thrashing and kidnapping against four named persons after a complaint by the two men, he said.

Also, based a complaint by the girl, another FIR was registered in connection with the same incident, the official said.

Following the two cases, two persons named in the FIR were detained and search was on for the other accused, he said.

Later, a corporator along with some people reached Moghat police station in protest against the registration of the case, which further fuelled tension, as per sources.

Superintendent of Police Satyendra Shukla said after the incident of kidnapping, four people were named in the FIR and two of them were detained, following which a group created ruckus at the police station and an incident of stone-pelting took place in a nearby area.

He said CrPC Section 144 was imposed in the city till further orders as some people tried to create communal tension, he said.

The situation is now peaceful, he added.

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