New Delhi: A 12-year-old boy in Madhya Pradesh has been served a notice to pay Rs 2.9 lakh in compensation for the damages he allegedly caused to public and private property when clashes broke out in Khargone during Ram Navami celebrations on April 10, Article 14 reported.
The boy’s father, Kalu Khan, has also been asked by the state’s Claims Tribunal to cough up Rs 4.8 lakh after his neighbour lodged a complaint with authorities about damages they had allegedly suffered during the clashes.
The notices were issued in accordance with the Madhya Pradesh Prevention and Recovery of Damages to Public Property Act, which was passed in December last year. The Madhya Pradesh law is modelled on a similar law enacted in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states. These laws empower authorities to recover wilful damages caused to public or private property during protests, clashes, strikes or during disturbances.
There have been allegations that the laws have been misused to selectively target members of one religious community.
The notices, which the father-son duo received, go back to the communal violence which broke out in the state’s Khargone town on April 10. It was alleged that some people had hurled stones at a Ram Navami procession, raising objections over loud and provocative music being played when the procession reached the Talab Chowk area. In the ensuing violence, one person was killed and at least 24 were injured. Ten houses went up in flames.
On April 11, authorities demolished the homes and shops of Muslims in Khargone in the aftermath of the violence.
This story was originally published in thewire.in . Read the full story here