Pulwama widows row: Rajasthan BJP leaders and workers detained during protest in Jaipur

The widows have been protesting since February 28 and launched an indefinite hunger strike five days ago. They have been camping outside former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot's residence here since Monday.

A day after Rajasthan BJP leader Kirodi Lal Meena allegedly sustained injuries in a clash with police when he was on his way to meet a widow of a soldier killed in the Pulwama terror attack, other party workers held a protest in Jaipur on Saturday.

As the party supporters marched towards Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot's residence, the protest turned violent. While the protesters threw stones and broke barricades, police resorted to lathicharge to disperse them as they moved towards Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's residence.

As some of them broke the barricades and tried to jump over them, they were detained by police and taken different police stations in buses. A large number of supporters of Meena had also arrived to join the protest from nearby districts of Dausa, Alwar, Jaipur rural, and Sawai Madhopur.

The widows have been protesting since February 28 and launched an indefinite hunger strike five days ago. They have been camping outside former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot's residence here since Monday. The police detained them yesterday and sent them back to their towns.

"I was going to visit Samod Balaji with my supporters, but Samod police station stopped me and abused and manhandled me. Is it such a big crime to stand with the heroines that the @ashokgehlot51 government is behaving like this with a public representative?" Meena said in a tweet.

He also said that he was admitted to the SMS Hospital due to "the anarchic-torture done by Rajasthan police". "Due to my old brain injury, I have to stay here for now. It is requested that in honor of the heroines, you reach the state BJP office on March 11 at 11 am," he said.

The widows have been demanding a change in rules so that their relatives and not just children can get government jobs on compassionate grounds.

They also demanded construction of roads and installation of statues of the martyrs in their villages. On Thursday, they sought a written assurance from the state government that their demands will be met.