Mandsaur firing: AAP claims police got clean chit from probe

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today claimed that the Justice (retd) J K Jain Commission has given a "clean chit" to police in the last year's Mandsaur firing incident in Madhya Pradesh in its report.

Citing a newspaper report, Madhya Pradesh AAP convener Alok Agrawal demanded that the probe panel's report on the death of five farmers in the police firing be made public without delay.

"According to a report published in a Hindi newspaper today, the (Jain Commission) report has given a clean chit to police. We demand that the panel report be made public immediately," Agrawal said.

Farmers had held statewide protests in Madhya Pradesh last year demanding better prices for their crops. The agitation was marred by violence at many parts in the state, especially in Mandsaur, which emerged as the epicentre of protests.

Five protesting farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur on June 6, 2017.

"We want the guilty punished. Are farmers not humans? Are their lives worthless? It is shameful that no one is found guilty for the killings though many serious lapses have been pointed out in the report," Agrawal claimed.

As per the probe panel report, the police firing on the farmers was lawful and was in self defence. It was necessary to disperse the farmers, the AAP leader said quoting the newspaper.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh couldn't be reached despite multiple attempts.

A top official of the Home department admitted that they have received the report of the J K Jain Commission, but refused to divulge its contents.

The panel, which was supposed to submit its report on September 11, 2017, finally handed it over to the state chief secretary on June 11 this year.

The report was then forwarded to the General Administration department, which handed it over to the Home department two days back.

The Justice (retd) J K Jain was appointed by the state government in June 2017.