Congress leaders demanding Nandkumar be booked arrested; released

JHABUA: Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief Arun Yadav, former Union Minister Kantilal Bhuria, ex-MLA Xavier Meda and others, who virtually laid a siege to a police station here for 19 hours, were arrested early today and produced in a court, which later set them free.

The Congress leaders were squatting right in front of the main gate of City Kotwali police station since yesterday demanding that MP BJP Chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan should be booked for "connecting" Bhuria's son Dr Vikrant to Rajendra Kasawa, prime accused in the Petlawad blast here which left 89 people dead and nearly 100 injured last week.

"We arrested Yadav, Bhuria, Meda and others under section 151 (to prevent the commission of cognizable offences) of CrPC this morning," District Superintendent of Police G G Pandey said.

They were produced in the court of area Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Syed Ashfaque Ali, who released them after some formalities, the police said.

However, Bhuria said that Congress leaders and workers will continue their protest till Nandkumar was booked.

"Nandkumar has told media in Bhopal that Kasawa was a close friend of my son Vikrant, which is totally baseless. My son does have a friend named Rajendra Kasawa, but he is 30- years-old and lives in Jhabua town, not in Petlawad," Bhuria said.

"When the police can register a case under the government's pressure against Arun Yadav who had alleged that Kasawa was an RSS man, why can't they book Nandkumar? We will continue our agitation till Nandkumar is booked," he asserted.

The September 12 explosion in New Bus Stand area of Petlawad here completely destroyed two buildings -- the one in which the explosive material was stored, and adjacent building housing Sethia restaurant -- besides damaging several houses.

The residential building in which the explosion took place is owned by Kasawa, who reportedly has a licence for use of explosives in digging of wells.

According to the police, he had stored a huge quantity of explosives, including gelatin sticks, in the building. On Tuesday, the police had detained his two brothers, Narendra and Phoolchand Kasawa.

Yesterday, investigators grilled Rajendra Kasawa's wife Pramila (45) and son Shubham to get clues about his whereabouts.

A case under section 304 (culpable homicide) of IPC and the Explosive Substances Act has been filed against Kasawa.