Mayawati demands strict action from government in Guna incident

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday demanded strict action from the government in the Guna incident in which a Dalit couple consumed poison after they were allegedly manhandled by the police during an anti-encroachment drive.

"It is very cruel and shameful that in Madhya Pradesh's Guna, police and administration in the name of an anti-encroachment drive with JCB machine destroyed the crop of a Dalit couple which they have grown by taking a loan and also to make them so helpless that they tried to commit suicide. The nationwide condemnation of this incident is natural. The government should take strict action," Mayawati tweeted (roughly translated from Hindi).

"At one end the BJP propagates that it is settling Dalits, on the other hand, these kinds of incidents are getting common in the same way as it was during the Congress government. Then what is the difference between the two governments, the Dalits should think about this," she said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan late on Wednesday night directed immediate removal of Collector and SP of Guna, after a couple consumed poison allegedly after they were manhandled by police during an anti-encroachment drive in Guna.

A State government has also ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident. The incident took place on Tuesday when the police tried to remove people who had encroached land allotted for college in the district.

The duo is in a stable condition.

-ANI

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