Chindwara (Madhya Pradesh): Police have arrested nine persons in connection with the death of two tribal men, Sampatlal Batti and Dhansay Inwati, who were assaulted by a group of people over suspicion of cow slaughter in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district on Wednesday. The state government has also provided financial assistance to the families of both the deceased and has provided them with jobs as daily wage workers.
The two tribal men died on Tuesday morning after some people, allegedly belonging to the Bajrang Dal, beat them up over suspicion of cow slaughter in Simaria village under Kurai police station limits. Another tribal man who was also assaulted when he reached the spot is presently undergoing treatment. After the incident, a group led by opposition Congress legislator Arjun Singh Kakodia staged a six-hour-long protest by blocking the Jabalpur-Nagpur national highway on Tuesday, alleging that the attackers belonged to Bajrang Dal.
Also read: MP: Two tribal men beaten to death on suspicion of cow slaughter
"The dispute started over the meat and it would not be correct as of now to say that any organization is involved in the incident," Local MP and Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste told reporters on Tuesday night in Seoni. The police had seized 20 kg of meat in this case, which has been sent for investigation. It is also not yet clear whether the accused belonged to any organization, Kulaste argued. "The name of Shri Ram Sena is coming up among the many accusation but Shri Ram Sena is not our organization," he said.
The police have arrested Sher Singh Rathore (28), Ajay Sahu (27), Vedant Chouhan (18), Deepak Avadhia (38), Basant Raghuvanshi (32) and Raghunandan Raghuvanshi (20). Three suspects - Anshul Chourasia (22), Shivraj Raghuvanshi (23) and Rinku Pal (30) - were also arrested and added that the hunt was on for others involved in the incident.
Meanwhile, the district administration in an official release said financial assistance worth Rs 8.25 lakh has been approved for the kin of each of the deceased. Also, Sampatlal Batti's daughter Sunita Batti has been appointed as a daily wage employee at a tribal girls' hostel in Barelipar village, and Dhansay Inwati's son Jaiprakash has been appointed as a daily wager at a higher secondary school in Vijaypani village.
(With agency inputs)
