A senior state government official today said that the situation in Mandsaur, the centre of farmers’ violent agitation that claimed lives of at least five people, was “almost normal”.
Divisional Commissioner M B Ojha further said that the curfew in the area may be relaxed by evening and internet services that had been suspended might also be restored.
“For the last two or three days, farmers were stopping vehicles and setting them on fire. No such incident has been reported today. The situation is almost normal,” he said.
If the situation continued to be quiet, curfew, imposed in four police station areas, including Pipaliya Mandi where the firing took place, might be relaxed.
Vehicles that were burnt had been removed this morning from the highway and traffic had resumed. Asked to comment on the post-mortem report of the five people who had been killed in firing on Tuesday, the official said the matter was under investigation.
Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were both at the spot. However, he didn’t divulge any details. The investigations, he indicated, revealed that the stone-pelters included boys between the ages of 16 and about 22. Some “anti-social elements” had joined in.
Farmers in the area have been protesting since June 1 demanding a higher minimum support price (MSP) for their produce amongst other issues. However, the situation escalated on Tuesday when five people were killed.
The Shivraj Chouhan government has stepped up security in areas witnessing protests and transferred the two top officials of the district.
The Congress yesterday termed as “coldblooded murder” the killing of five farmers in police firing in Madhya Pradesh and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on it.
(With PTI inputs)
