Jaipur, Nov 15 (PTI) Situation is now under control in Tonk, where violence broke out in the wake of the arrest of Independent MLA candidate Naresh Meena for slapping Malpura SDM outside a polling booth, according to a government official.
Meena, who Sub-Divisional Magistrate Amit Chaudhary during the by-elections to the Deoli-Uniara assembly constituency, was scheduled to be produced in a court.
"On 13th November during polling, a candidate slapped the SDM while on election duty. The SDM filed an FIR then, but we did not disturb the candidate. After the polls ended and the polling party was leaving, the candidate tried to stop them. That's when the police intervened. The police attempted to resolve the situation, but the candidate initiated an assault," Tonk District Collector Soumya Jha told PTI.
He said that after the incident, some supporters caused disturbances in different areas, "but now the situation has stabilised and everything is under control."
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Administrative Service Association members, who have been on strike for two days, met Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma here on Friday.
The body's general secretary Neetu Rajeshwar said the decision to end the strike will be taken in the association meeting.
Members of the RAS Association and allied services went on a strike on Thursday demanding Meena's arrest.
Ahead of his appearance in court, police made tight security arrangements in Tonk and the surrounding areas and kept the fire brigade and ambulances on alert.
Meena's supporters started gathering at different places, including hotels, on the Jaipur-Kota Highway.
The Congress rebel contesting as an Independent in the bypolls was arrested on Thursday following a high drama and subsequent violence in which a mob assaulted a PTI reporter and video cameraperson and burned their camera.
The two came under attack when they were about to interview Agriculture Minister Kirodi Lal Meena, who had gone to the trouble spot to assess the situation in Tonk district's Samravta village, about 100 km from the state capital Jaipur.
On Thursday, the Aligarh town on the Tonk-Sawai Madhopur highway remained closed for about 10 hours due to the violence.
About 60 two-wheelers and 18 four-wheelers were torched and Meena pelted stones at the police Wednesday night. Around 60 people were arrested after the incident.
Police lobbed tear gas shells at the frenzied crowd on Wednesday after coming under stoning.
After slapping the SDM, Meena sat on a dharna outside the polling booth in Samravta village and asked his supporters to gather at the dharna with sticks.
After the polling was over, police asked Meena and his supporters to disperse but they turned violent and pelted stones.
Allegedly, Meena slapped the SDM for trying to get more people to vote while the locals had boycotted the polling demanding Samravta village be counted in the Uniara sub-division and not Deoli, as Uniara is the nearest location.
Meena was supporting the villagers.
Polling for bypolls on seven assembly seats, including Deoli-Uniara, was held from 7 am to 6 pm on November 13. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.