Overview

• The Himachal Pradesh High Court on June 17 granted interim bail to BJP state president Dr. Rajiv Bindal and Paonta Sahib MLA Sukhram Chaudhary in an attempt-to-murder case linked to the June 13 stone-pelting violence.
• Justice Virender Singh instructed police not to pursue any coercive action against Bindal, Chaudhary and party worker Alka Rani until their next court date on June 24.
• Charges relate to a clash during protests over the alleged elopement of an 18-year-old Hindu woman with a 19-year-old Muslim man, an incident that left over ten people, including officers, injured.
• Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were in force in Kiratpur, Malion, Fatehpur and Missarwala until June 19 to stem further unrest.
• BJP leaders and supporters held demonstrations on June 19 denouncing the FIR as politically motivated, while Congress ministers have accused the opposition of communalizing the elopement case.