Video grab of police officers in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas making young men walk to the police station after shaving their heads on March 9, 2025
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Madhya Pradesh Police embroiled in a controversy on Tuesday after videos emerged from Dewas showing nine youth being paraded with their heads shaved, following their arrest for allegedly creating a ruckus and clashing with police personnel during celebrations for India’s victory in ICC Champions Trophy on March 9.
The move was condemned by Dewas BJP MLA Gayatri Raje Pawar who claimed that the police had arrested the “wrong men” and those in custody were “innocent”.
Ms. Raje Pawar also called on Dewas Superintendent of Police Puneet Gehlod to seek a thorough investigation into the matter, after which Additional SP Jaiveer Singh Bhadoriya has been tasked to investigate the whole matter, including the clashes, shaving and parading, and an incident of a policeman using “indiscriminate force”. Mr. Bhadoriya has been asked to submit an overall report within seven days.
“We will investigate the matter from all angles and clear out everything within seven days and take action against those found involved,” he said, speaking to news agency ANI.
On the night of March 9 after Indian Men’s Cricket Team beat New Zealand to claim the title, incidents of clashes and vandalism were reported in parts of Dewas. In one such incident, some youth allegedly misbehaved with Kotwali police station in-charge Ajay Gurjar during a confrontation over bursting of firecrackers.
In one of the purported videos, a mob is seen attacking Mr. Gurjar’s vehicle with stones and sticks when he was leaving the spot.
Mr. Gehlod said that nine people have been booked in connection with the March 9 incidents.
He also said that the officer accused of using “indiscriminate force” was taken off duty and attached to police line. A CCTV footage had surfaced showing him thrashing a momo vendor with a baton. The victim is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Indore, after he was referred from Dewas.
A separated inquiry by Dewas City SP has also been initiated into this matter, Mr. Gehlod said.
Ms. Raje, who was accompanied by some family members of the accused to the SP office, termed the shaving and parading as “excessive” action and said that they were “not criminals”.
“The boys who actually started the fight have not been arrested. What happened was not right. The police are our own so I have requested the SP for a fair investigation to find out if the arrested boys did anything,” she said.
Similar clashes had also taken place during the victory celebrations in Indore district’s Mhow, where two communities came face to face, leading to stone-pelting, arson and vandalism. The incidents, reported in at least five places across town, also left about seven people injured.
The police have so far arrested 13 men in connection with the violence and named about 50 people in eight FIRs.
Even though the situation is returning to normalcy, personnel have been deployed in heavy numbers in Mhow to avoid any incident with the police also monitoring the situation using drones.
Meanwhile, multiple similar incidents of ‘parading’ and publicly thrashing accused by the police have been reported in various parts of Madhya Pradesh, including Ujjain, Indore and Damoh.
Published – March 12, 2025 12:50 pm IST
