Notorious gangster Anand Pal Singh’s encounter on June 24 has triggered massive protests in several parts of Rajasthan, prompting district authorities to impose Section 144 and total internet blackout in as many as four districts. Reports have also indicated that more than 16 people of the Rajput community have been injured in protests demanding a CBI probe into the incident, which they allege was staged by the state police. Anand Pal belonged to the Ravana Rajput community. A Superintendent of Police was among the injured in the district of Nagaur in Rajasthan.
The protests first began with the congregation of thousands of angry protesters from all over Rajasthan in the village of Sanwarda. There was a significant escalation on July 12 when an angry mob attacked police with stone and set a police vehicle on fire after a meeting was held between leaders of the Rajput community. The protesters allege that four bystanders were hurt too but the police deny it. There were three policemen in the violence on July 12 who were taken to a Jaipur hospital.
Anand Pal’s family has also gone on record to say that the gangster was eliminated as part of a political conspiracy and that he was willing to surrender when the alleged encounter happened.
Protests also brought some damage to the railway tracks near the village, following which rail traffic had to be diverted from the Ladnu-Kuchaman section. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is said to be in the loop with the whole situation and has instructed her officers to monitor the situation closely for now.
The spot where his body has been placed in a freezer for close to a week now has turned into a shrine where the crowd began to gather with his family being at the forefront of the protest. Anand Pal had close to 40 cases against him since 1992 to 2017, the police said which included a few murder cases too. He was caught for a murder in 2012 in Jaipur only to escape from the jail in 2015. Although there is nothing on record as income, he owns two apartments in Jaipur besides two other properties.
