Supporters of BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya create chaos after his arrest for assaulting public official

One of the supporters of Akash Vijayvargiya poured kerosene on himself and threatened to commit suicide unless the BJP MLA was released.

Scenes of absolute chaos were witnessed late on Wednesday night when supporters of BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya protested against his arrest in Indore. One of the supporters even poured kerosene on himself and threatened to immolate himself.

Akash, son of senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, was arrested for assaulting a Municipal Corporation officer who had come for an anti-encroachment drive. In a video of the incident, Akash is seen brandishing and using a cricket bat to assault the public official with. For the incident, Akash was arrested and a case under IPC 353, 294, 506, 147, 148 was registered at the  MG Road police station. His bail plea too was rejected and he was sent to judicial custody till July 7.

This led to a massive uproar from Akash's supporters, many of whom protested late in the night against the arrest of their leader. Gaurav Sharma, one of the protesters, even poured kerosene on himself. "I have done this today and more such things will happen unless our MLA is released by the autocratic police force. He (Akash) works for the development of people but it is because of the useless Kamal Nath government that he has today had to go to jail," he said. "Today, I have only poured kerosene and tried to burn myself but can do a lot more if our leader is not released at the soonest. And if I do, only the police department would be responsible for it."

While his supporters may be backing him for assaulting a public official but Akash has faced enormous flak for taking the route of violence. Some have even said the incident showcases his arrogance. The incident has also caused embarrassment to the BJP although Akash had said, before his arrest, that he had done nothing wrong. He, in fact, had accused the public official of wrongly conducting the anti-encroachment drive and had claimed that Congress leaders were trying to capture the building that the public official had targeted.