Heart of Indore sees a Saturday of political fury and flying stones

Indore: The historic Rajwada area, usually a bustling hub of commerce and heritage, transformed into a battlefield on Saturday as the city's political temperature reached a violent boiling point. What was intended as a demonstration by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) at the Congress party's Indore office disintegrated into a chaotic free-for-all, leaving the law and order machinery struggling to keep pace with the rage on the streets.The air was thick with tension long before the first stone was cast. Following the BJP's announcement to picket the Congress office, over 100 opposition leaders, led by city president Chintu Choukse and district chief Vipin Wankhede, fortified themselves at Gandhi Bhavan. A heavy police presence from Pandhrinath and nearby stations stood as a thin blue line between the two factions.As the BJP worker marched from Machchi Bazaar square and breached the initial layer of police barricades, the atmosphere curdled. Slogans turned into screams and the political rivalry took a physical and ugly turn.The confrontation escalated with startling speed. Witnesses described a surreal and terrifying scene: Oil pouches were hurled from the BJP side, met by a barrage of water bottles from Congressmen. Soon, the sky above Rajwada was filled with a "heavy shower" of tomatoes and oranges, which quickly escalated to lethal stone-pelting.The traders slammed their shutters down in a frantic clatter. Shoppers and pedestrians scrambled for cover as the heart of Indore's business district was paralysed by fear. BJP worker Bindu Chauhan was seen bleeding from her forehead and nose, alleging that stones from the Congress office targeted her. On the other side, Congress block president Gabbar Pawar received five stitches, claiming BJYM workers gave them "no chance to escape".By the time the police deployed water cannons to freeze the mob in its tracks, the damage was done. At least a dozen people lay injured, including sub-inspector RS Baghel and Congress district president Vipin Wankhede, who were hospitalised.As the physical dust settled, a digital storm erupted. MP Congress president Jitu Patwari took to social media, labelling the incident a "tandav of BJP goons" and accusing chief minister Mohan Yadav of providing "open protection" to lawlessness. BJP MLA Malini Gaud criticised Congress leaders as she condemned the alleged "indecent gestures" and violence as a "shameful incident".Meanwhile, senior BJP leaders, including Ramesh Mendola and Golu Shukla, swarmed the Pandhrinath police station, demanding FIRs and accusing Congress of a pre-planned ambush on a "peaceful agitation"