Indore cop snatching 'Ghanta' from protesters goes viral on social media

Indore, Jan 3 (PTI) A video of a policeman in anti-riot gear snatching a 'ghanta' (bell) from youth Congress protesters has set social media abuzz on Saturday, with netizens using the footage to comment on the language slip-up of a minister in the Madhya Pradesh government.

The incident is of Friday when youth Congress activists carrying a large 'ghanta' staged a protest outside the Indore Municipal Corporation headquarters over the contaminated water tragedy. Police detained 21 activists as a preventive measure.

The clip of the policeman snatching the bell and pacing toward the police station has prompted a wave of "hilarious comments" online with some readers quipping that the police is more efficient at "arresting bells" than fixing the leaking sewage lines that caused the tragedy.

Senior Madhya Pradesh minister and local MLA Kailash Vijayvargiya sparked a controversy on Wednesday night by using the word "ghanta" while responding to a TV journalist's questions on the developments in Indore. In common parlance, the term is broadly understood to mean "nonsense". The minister had later issued a statement regretting the use of the word.

The protesters alleged that the deaths due to contaminated water in the city's Bhagirathpura area were the result of administrative negligence and corruption by the ruling BJP.

The minister, who visited a health centre in Bhagirathpura on Friday, appeared to avoid media questions on the issue and said he would respond at an official press conference. PTI HWP SKL KRK