A day after NGO workers affiliated to organisations of activists Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey were attacked in Jhalawar, an FIR on the incident failed to directly mention local BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena. The activists had said that Meena was the one leading the attack against them. The police, meanwhile, arrested four youths aged 20-22 years on Sunday for the attacks, which injured a dozen workers. Taking cognisance of media reports, BJP state president Ashok Parnami late Sunday issued a notice to Meena and sought a clarification within a week. A copy of the FIR, accessed by The Indian Express, talks of an ‘MLA’ four times without naming him. The activists have demanded the naming of the MLA (who represents Manohar Thana constituency) in the FIR, saying that the FIR has not named the MLA as an accused under point seven of the format [which seeks details of known/suspected/unknown accused]. The FIR mentions ‘unknown’ person, whereas the application given by Shankar Singh, one of the founders of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), twice mentions the MLA’s involvement. The activists allege that the police initially “tampered” with the complaint, adding ‘purv’ (former) wherever the ‘MLA’ was mentioned. Jhalawar SP Rajendra Singh said, “They (activists) made an allegation against the MLA. They were told by people there that a person attacking them is an MLA. It is a matter of investigation.” The MLA, though, claimed that he went to the spot with police “to mediate” after he got calls about the attacks. Aklera police station SI Manmohan said that Suraj (22), Ram Vilas (21), Lal Chand (20) and Beeram (22) were arrested in connection with the attack.
