Chhattisgarh Govt Removes District Collector, SP Over Balodabazar Arson

According to the order issued in this regard, IAS officer Deepak Soni has been appointed as the new Collector of Balodabazar district while IPS officer Vijay Agarwal has been appointed as the new Superintendent of Police.

Balodabazar Bhatapara: The Vishnu Deo Sai led BJP government in Chhattisgarh has removed District Collector and Superintendent of Police of Baloda Bazar district of the state following Monday's violence and arson by a particular community after alleged vandalisation of a religious place.

Sources said that the the Sai government has removed the current Collector of Balodabazar district KL Chauhan and Superintendent of Police Sadanand Kumar over the incident.

According to the order issued in this regard on Tuesday night, after the Balodabazar violence, the state government has appointed IAS officer Deepak Soni as the new Collector of Balodabazar district. Along with this, IPS Vijay Agarwal has been appointed as the new Superintendent of Police of Balodabazar district. Former Collector KL Chauhan has been sent as Special Secretary in the Ministry and SP Sadanand Kumar has been attached to Raipur Police Headquarters.

The action against the two officers comes in the wake of Monday's violence and arson in which the protesters from the Satnami community set ablaze over 200 vehicles inside the premises of the district collectorate office where the community was demonstrating the alleged vandalisation of their religious place of worship.

In the wake of the violence and arson, Section 144 has been imposed in the entire district since Monday night. Chhattisgarh Police has formed 10 special teams for impartial investigation of the violence.

According to Balodabazar Collector KL Chauhan, so far about 200 people have been detained in connection with the violence.

Outgoing SP of Balodabazar district Sadanand Kumar said that seven FIRs have been registered, in which 73 people have been arrested so far. “Our team is currently engaged in the search for the accused. Action is being taken by identifying the accused with the help of CCTV cameras, including the police's videos and photos," he said.

"It was assured that the agitation would be held peacefully, but disturbance has been created by the miscreants. Further strict action will be taken against the culprits," Kumar further said.