Khargone: In a shocking development, the Claims Tribunal in Madhya Pradesh has issued a notice to a 12-year-old boy to pay Rs 2.9 lakh in damages in the April 10 Khargone violence case after which the boy is in shock, his family said. On April 10, during the procession of Ram Navami in Khargone, there was stone pelting and arson between the two groups.
Within minutes, the celebration turned into a frightening scene. In response to the riots in Khargone during the Ram Navami festival, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the setting up of a tribunal to investigate the damage and demand compensation from the rioters. The government had also approved the Prevention and Recovery of Damage to Public Property Act in December last year and constituted a two-member tribunal to recover damages from those involved in the violence.
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Kalu Khan, father of the 12-year-old boy studying in Class 8 Khargone said that the tribunal has issued a notice to his son to pay Rs 2.9 lakh as damages. Kalu Khan himself has been asked to pay Rs 4.8 lakh, he added. Both have been reported to have been involved in violence. Khan's wife said that since they received the notice, her son is in shock and they fear he might be arrested soon.
It is learned that a woman in Khans' neighborhood had filed a complaint with the tribunal saying her property was damaged after a mob ransacked it during a Ram Navami procession on April 10 in the city. The complainant along with other neighbors claimed that the 12-year-old boy had looted and vandalized their houses.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi while reacting to the notice of the administration said that the MP government “hates Muslims so much that now they are not even sparing children”. He said that the Juvenile Justice Act states that a child shall not be held guilty of any malicious or criminal intent.
After the communal clashes of April 10, more than 60 FIRs were registered and 170 people were booked. More than 50 houses, shops, and buildings were also demolished by the state administration.
