Jaipur, Apr 15: As many as 800 Sangh Parivar leaders, including a BJP MP and three party MLAs, were today taken into custody during the Rajasthan bandh, called by VHP to protest arrest of its leader Praveen Togadia, which evoked mixed response and was marred by stray violence in Ajmer. A state roadways bus was damaged by bandh supporters in Ajmer this morning, Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) Arun Duggar said adding that barring this, the bandh was violence free. BJP MP Girdhari Lal Bhargava, two party MLAs Jaswant Gurjar and Shivji Ram, and about 800 workers of VHP, BJP, RSS and Bajrang Dal were taken into custody and later released, Inspector General of Police (law and order) A K Jain said. Some of them were arrested while trying to enforce bandh by forcing shopkeepers to down shutters and others as a precautionary measure.

Another BJP MLA Madan Dilawar and three partymen were arrested under the arms act in Baran district after they tried to take out a procession defying prohibitory orders and on being stopped by police, took out tridents, he said.


VHP state leader Mahaveer accused state government of "crushing" its bandh by using "repressive methods" and arresting over 2,500 people, including 1,500 VHP workers.
Security had been beefed up and prohibitory orders clamped in 15 districts in view of the bandh called to protest arrest of Togadia after a trident distribution ceremony in Ajmer on Sunday and the ban on tridents.

Bureau Report