Jaipur: Former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Friday demanded an inquiry into the violence in Samraota village in Tonk district on the bypoll day. Pilot said the violence in Deoli-Uniara on voting day shows that the state govt has no control. "No preventive measures were taken. The govt has, in a way, launched an attack on the citizens. The way women, girls, and the elderly were assaulted in the village reveals a side of the govt. If the govt cannot maintain control, has no interest in establishing law and order, and is only focusing on politics, then why should the public suffer?" asked Pilot. "The govt should give compensation to those who suffered. Violence is not the solution to any problem. If the state machinery attacks the citizens, then who can say it is right? The state govt should conduct an inquiry into it," he said.
Former minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said that following the slapping incident in Deoli-Uniara, the way the govt orchestrated a police attack on Samravata village at night cannot be deemed democratic or legal by any means. He demanded a judicial investigation into the entire matter.
"If the chief minister wanted, the police could have waited until morning. The attack on the village in the dark resulted in over 200 injuries. About 100 women were severely injured, over 50 houses in the village were burned, and more than 25 four-wheelers and 100 motorcycles were set on fire.
"The villagers did not set these on fire. They accused the police of burning the vehicles at the govt's behest, and these allegations have been openly made by the villagers in the media."