Cross-FIRs lodged after CJP team attacked in Jaipur

Jaipur: Amid a row over an alleged attack on members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) during a visit to a government school in Jaipur, the outfit and local villagers have lodged FIRs against each other, accusing one another of assault and creating a ruckus.

The CJP team reached Rampura Kanwarpura village Friday to inspect the condition of a government school when a confrontation broke out between its members and local residents, whom the CJP has accused of being “BJP goons”.

Some villagers, however, claimed that the team’s presence created “fear” in the area.

The school had been functioning from a cattle enclosure after its building was declared unsafe. On Saturday morning, its students were shifted to new premises by the authorities.

Shivdaspura SHO Rajesh Gautam said that a local villager lodged a complaint last night alleging that CJP members had arrived in large numbers and had intimidated residents. They claimed that children were scared and were not attending school.

Gautam said that the second FIR follows a complaint registered by a CJP member, alleging that the team members were beaten up during the incident. They have demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible for the alleged attack.

Reacting to the FIR, CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka alleged that the attackers were “goons” called by BJP leaders.

“We have videos and all the evidence. If they also have evidence, let them show it,” he said.

Purported videos of the incident show a large number of people engaging in a heated exchange with the CJP team, pushing and shoving its members as they tried to enter the village. Some clips also showed smashed windows of cars, believed to have belonged to the visiting CJP team.

Villagers, allegedly accompanied by BJP workers, put up barricades and forcibly pushed back the CJP team that was visiting the government school as part of its ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign Friday morning.

The villagers claimed that the government had already sanctioned funds for the repair work of the school building, which could be carried out with local efforts.