Congress rebel Naresh Meena arrested after slapping official during Rajasthan bye-polls

Former Congress leader Naresh Meena, who contested the Deoli-Uniara Assembly bye-polls in Rajasthan’s Tonk district as an Independent candidate, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly slapping a sub-divisional magistrate, reported PTI.

Voting for the Deoli-Uniara bye-polls was held on Wednesday. Videos of the incident were shared widely on social media and showed Meena purportedly slapping Malpura Sub-Divisional Magistrate Amit Choudhary at a polling station in Samravata village in Tonk.

Area residents boycotted the polls over their demand to include Samravata village in the Uniara sub-division instead of Deoli, according to PTI. Meena had supported the demand.

Claiming that he had been “informed the SDM [sub-divisional magistrate] had allowed three fake voters to cast their votes”, Meena also joined a sit-in protest with his supporters, reported The Indian Express.

“The public got agitated when they saw those three workers under the SDM cast their vote but I handled the situation,” he claimed.

However, at around 10 pm on Wednesday, Meena’s supporters clashed with the police, resulting in more than 50 persons getting injured. Over 60 vehicles were set on fire, The Indian Express quoted unidentified officials as saying.

The police reportedly fired tear gas to control the crowd.

Chaudhary and Tonk District Collector Saumya Jha were asked to file a report about the incident, according to the newspaper. A first information report...

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