Madhya Pradesh: Five Arrested for Murder During Ram Navami Clashes in Khargone

Ibraish Khan's body was found eight days later after the communal clas at a morgue in Indore City.

A house gutted in the violence that erupted in Khargone.

(Photo: Vishnukant Tiwari/The Quint)

As many as five people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a man during the communal clashes in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone that erupted during the Ram Navami procession on Sunday, 10 April.

Ibraish Khan alias Saddam, a 30-year-old municipal employee, had been missing since the 10-April violence, and his family had filed a missing persons report. Meanwhile, his body was found eight days later at a morgue in Indore City, around 120 km from Khargone.

Dilip, Sandeep, Ajay Karma, Ajay Solanki, and Dipak Pradhan have been arrested in connection with his murder on 10 April.

Terming the murder as an act of 'religious frenzy', Rohit Kashwani, acting superintendent of police, Khargone, said, "We have arrested five people in connection to the murder of Ibraish Khan. His body was found in the Kapas Mandi area, and all the accused are from the areas of Anand Nagar and Rahimpura."

Accused Have Confessed To the Crime

The police said the men had been identified by Khan's parents and locals and had also confessed to committing the crime.

Sources in the police said that Khan was murdered by at least seven to eight people on the night of the clashes and that at least three more people are on the run.

His body was found the next day but had remained unidentified and was sent to a morgue in Indore as Khargone didn't have any morgue with freezer facilities.

Meanwhile, Ibraish Khan's family had accused the police of complicity. "The people in Anand Nagar attacked my brother with weapons and crushed his head with a stone," said Ibraish's brother Ikhlaq Khan.

Ikhlaq said that his brother was last seen in police custody on the evening of 10 April. He also said that his brother's body was hidden, and the matter came to light only after he threatened to go to the media.

A total of 24 people, including Superintendent of Police Siddharth Chaudhary, suffered injuries in the clashes. SP Chaudhary and two other civilians also suffered bullet injuries.

The police have announced a reward of ₹10,000 for information on those involved in the clashes. The police further informed that 63 First Information Reports (FIRs) had been registered in connection with the violence.

A total of 168 people have been arrested in connection with the communal violence across Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district.