Tonk: Rajasthan Police On Thursday arrested Naresh Meena, an independent candidate, for allegedly attacking a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) outside the polling booth in the Deoli-Uniara assembly by-election in Tonk district. Tensions flared over Wednesday when police attempted to arrest him after he allegedly struck SDM Amit Chaudhary outside a polling station, where Chaudhary had been overseeing the election process at the time.

#WATCH | Tonk, Rajastha: Police arrests Naresh Meena from Samravata VIllage.

Naresh Meena, independent candidate for Deoli Uniara assembly constituency by-polls in Tonk district, after he allegedly physically assaulted SDM Amit Chaudhary at a polling booth yesterday pic.twitter.com/v8meme4qsw

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— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2024

Video footage of the violence shows Meena allegedly slapping Chaudhary in a scuffle over the voting procedure that allegedly escalated matters. Protests erupted when Meena was arrested, and supporters torched portions of the state highway near Samravata village.

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The incident resulted in widespread chaos, including arson, stone-pelting, and vandalism, with close to 60 arrests made in connection to the unrest, said Ajmer Range IG Om Prakash. Several vehicles were damaged in the violence that erupted when police sought to apprehend Meena.

#WATCH | Tonk, Rajasthan: Supporters of Naresh Meena set fire on the state highway outside Samravata village, to protest against this arrest. pic.twitter.com/NU5lX2OP3I

— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2024

The conflict reportedly started when Meena tried to forcefully enter the polling station. There was a scuffle with officials in the process. Meena claims SDM had allowed three voters to cast their ballot secretly, which provoked people in general. He further complained that his symbol on the EVM was not visibly highlighted to help his supporters identify it.

In a video message, Meena announced a sit-in protest along with the residents of Samraota panchayat in demanding that the village be placed under the sub-division of Uniara, located 15km from the village, rather than Deoli which is around 50km from Samraota. He appealed to the collector of the Tonk district to officially raise it as a demand with the chief minister too.

#WATCH | Tonk, Rajasthan: "I will not surrender," says Naresh Meena, as police reaches Samravata VIllage to arrest him. pic.twitter.com/AN6T9qSQPf

— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2024

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