Madhya Pradesh BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya, the son of senior party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, was arrested on Wednesday after he was caught on camera assaulting a municipal corporation officer with a cricket bat during an argument over a demolition drive in Indore.
He was arrested and produced before a local court.
According to eye-witnesses, even as locals were protesting razing of a house, Akash, who was a part of the protest, warned the team of civic body staff of consequences if they do not leave the spot.
At the same time, the MLA's supporters removed the keys of the earth moving machine brought along by the civic body team to carry out demolition, they said.
Amid heated exchange, Akash Vijayvargiya brought out a cricket bat and started hitting an officer who was talking over his mobile phone, an act recorded on camera. Supporters of the MLA also attacked the officer and abused him while police personnel present at the spot tried to bring the situation under control.
Also read: 'Aavedan, nivedan fir dana dan': Indore BJP MLA thrashes civic officer with bat; send him to World Cup, says Twitter
After the incident, Akash, who represents Indore-3 Assembly Segment, went to MG Road Police Station along with his supporters, where local BJP leaders joined them. Meanwhile, Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) employees held a demonstration by stopping their work.
Akash said he had spoken to the municipal commissioner and sought extension of stay for the tenants in that house, which authorities claimed was dilapidated.
"The house was not in that bad condition. Some officials of the municipal corporation are razing even those houses which are in good condition by declaring them dilapidated. This is a conspiracy between owners of the houses and officials. They want to raze the houses so that leaders of the ruling Congress can take possession of the land. We are opposing this," the MLA said.
Akash, while narrating the sequence of events that unfolded, claimed that certain Congress legislators were getting buildings in Indore demolished in connivance with the Municipal Corporation without consulting him. Despite repeated requests to wait for proper investigation to be done before demolition, Akash claimed that officers paid no heed to his pleas and sent "gangs" to displace people from the structures that had to be demolished.
"I got to know that some buildings are being demolished by some Congress leaders in connivance with the Municipal Corporation. I requested them to keep me in the loop if any work is being done in my area, but they did not take me seriously. Two days ago, I got to know that a building is being demolished so I sent my workers to get a report and also send me pictures. I spoke to the Commissioner and asked for some time to investigate, and he agreed," Akash said.
"Commissioner agreed, but the next day I got to know that gangs were sent to displace people living in this building. Gangs dragged women out of their houses by their feet, women police should've been with them but they were not. When I reached there, people got angry at the officers and chased them away," he added.
The Indore MLA went on to say that this is just the beginning, adding that corruption will not be tolerated at any cost.
"I warned them to leave in ten minutes, or they will be responsible for the consequences. But they did not listen to me. This is just the beginning," he said, adding, "'Aavedan, nivedan aur phir dana dan' this is our line of action."
Condemning the incident, state Congress spokesperson Neelabh Shukla said, "The lawmaker himself has broken the law. The incident has exposed the real face of the BJP. In a way, the incident has exposed the fissures within the BJP, as the IMC is represented by a BJP mayor," he said.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)
