In an horrifying incident following the byelection in Vijaypur Assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh, some people reportedly set fire to a Dalit village. The incident took place in Gohta village after voting concluded late on Wednesday.

Reports said that the accused created a ruckus in the village, pelted stones and vandalised properties. Several terrified villagers took shelter at a local police station. It is alleged that despite the severity of the situation, the police have not taken any action against the perpetrators of the crime.

However, Vijaypur police station in-charge Pappu Singh Yadav asserted that police teams reached the spot and brought the situation under control. The Police station-in-charge added that violence occurred following conflict between two groups. Reportedly, the byelection in the aforesaid constituency was conducted amid mild violence, protests and allegations of booth capturing on Wednesday.

Following the ruckus between two groups, nearly three people were injured in the Veerpur area in Vijaypur. The fight broke out over the denial of voting rights. The candidates of both ruling and Opposition (BJP’s Ramniwas Rawat and Congress’ nominee Mukesh Malhotra) for Vijapur by-polls were put up at a guest house during the election owing to security reasons.

The chaos in Vijaypur unfolded two days before the byelections when a group of criminals opened fire at villagers, injuring three residents. Additionally, few back-to-back incidents of violence sparked outrage and calls for immediate intervention to ascertain justice and security for the affected families.

The byelections in this constituency under the Morena Lok Sabha constituency of Gwalior-Chambal region were necessitated after sitting Congress MLA Ramniwas Rawat resigned from the party and state Assembly. Later, he joined the ruling BJP and was elevated as state forest minister in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s Cabinet. On Wednesday, Vijaypur recorded 75 per cent voter turnout.

The tussle between BJP and Congress workers began with the start of the voting, and continued till the end. Furthermore, Jitu Patwari, Congress state president and BJP state president VD Sharma sat on a dharna near the ECI’s office in Bhopal, accusing each other’s party of fake voting and booth capturing.

The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) today agreed to the demands of the protesting aspirants, announcing that it will conduct the PCS preliminary exam in a single day. This decision follows days after massive protests by the students in Prayagraj who demanded that the exams be held in one day and a single shift.

Notably, the PCS exam was to be held in two shifts on December 7 and 8. The Review Officer and Assistant Review Officer (RO-ARO) preliminary examination was to be held in three shifts on December 22 and 23 and has been postponed. Furthermore, a decision on fixing a fresh date for the RO-ARO exam will be taken once the UPPSC submits a report.

Ashok Kumar, UPPSC Commission Secretary made the announcement in front of the students in Prayagraj, who have been protesting against the exam schedule for the past four days. He said that multiple paper leak issues in competitive exams have come to light from different parts of the country in the last few months, in which some institutions were found to be involved. Therefore, to ensure the sanctity and transparency of competitive exams, the state government had planned to hold exams with over five lakh aspirants in multiple shifts, he continued.

The UPPSC Commission Secretary mentioned that as a part of this, the state exam body announced to PCS exam 2024, proposed to be held in December and ARO exam 2023, in multiple shifts. He added that the demand raised by some students over the past few days was taken into cognisance by the Chief Minister, who directed the commission to maintain dialogue with the students and take a decision. Ashok Kumar said that the commission will hold the exam in a single shift.

Earlier on November 5, the UPPSC announced that the RO-ARO and the PCS exams were in three and two shifts, respectively. The move to conduct the exams on separate dates drew widespread criticism, while the aspirants argued that it caused unnecessary confusion and hardship. Meanwhile, the Opposition also criticised the BJP over the UPPSC’s exam schedule.

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan’s bail in the Delhi Waqf matter has exposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government’s false case, said senior party leader Sanjay Singh on Thursday.

A Delhi court on Thursday ordered Khan’s release in a money-laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board while refusing to take cognisance of a charge sheet filed against him.

“Bail to Amanat. Once again, Modi’s false case has been exposed. Modi ji tried all his tricks but could not eliminate Arvind Kejriwal and AAP,” the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Singh said in Hindi on X.

Echoing his colleague, former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Amanatullah Khan’s bail by a Delhi court made it clear that the BJP had sent him to jail in a false case, adding the BJP was misusing the ED.

Sisodia charged that the main objective of the saffron party is to put AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal and his associates in jail in false CBI and ED cases so that they cannot contest the elections.

“We all are out of jail. The BJP will not win in the Delhi elections, Arvind Kejriwal will become the CM again,” said Sisodia. The Delhi Assembly election is due early next year.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said this was bound to happen. “All AAP leaders are out now. The truth cannot be defeated and we are going to contest the Delhi elections with full strength,” he said.

On September 2, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Khan as part of a money-laundering investigation against him and some others linked to him.

The 50-year-old legislator was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after a central agency conducted a search of his residence in the Okhla area of Delhi.

The money laundering case against him arises from two First Information Reports (FIRs): one filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding “irregularities” in the Waqf Board, and another concerning disproportionate assets registered by the Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch.

On October 29, the ED filed a 110-page supplementary prosecution complaint, which is similar to a charge sheet, alleging that Khan laundered money generated through corruption within the Delhi Waqf Board.