SDM slap row: Violence in Tonk after MLA candidate’s arrest

Naresh Meena was arrested after he slapped Malpura SDM. Pic/PTI

Independent MLA candidate Naresh Meena was arrested following high drama and violence on Thursday, a day after he slapped an SDM during polling in Rajasthan's Tonk district and set in motion differing protests from both his supporters and Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) officials.

The tension started Wednesday afternoon after Meena caught SDM Malpura Amit Chaudhary by the collar and slapped him in full view of camera crews, continued through the night and well into Thursday. Work across government offices in the state was hit in the morning with officials of the RAS Association and allied services going on a pen-down strike demanding that Meena be arrested.

They said they would continue till a meeting with Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma. Ranged against them were Meena's alleged supporters. About 60 two-wheelers and 18 four-wheelers, including police vehicles, were torched in the violence that erupted outside the polling booth in Samravta village in the Deoli-Uniara Assembly.

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