5 hurt in stone pelting over removal of encroached wall on temple premises, BJP MLA held

Rewa (MP): More than five persons were injured on Tuesday when two groups attacked each other with stones after a wall allegedly constructed by encroaching upon the premises of a temple in Devra village of Mauganj district in Madhya Pradesh was pulled down, police said.

A hut was also set on fire by agitators, a police official said.

Police arrested BJP MLA Pradeep Patel who along with his supporters reached the village, leading to the dismantling of the boundary wall constructed by allegedly encroaching upon the temple land by the other group.

The legislator is confined in a community hall of police in Rewa, Mauganj SP Rasna Thakur said.

Heavy police force was deployed in Devra village to control the situation and maintain peace, the SP said.

"A dispute erupted between two groups over the removal of an encroachment (wall) from the Mahadevan temple premises in Devra village following which stones were pelted, leaving five persons injured," a police official said.

Villagers have been staging protests for the last three days for removing the encroachment from the temple following which the MLA also directed the local administration to take action.

When the administration didn't act, the MLA reached the temple premises with his supporters. The protesters later pulled down the wall, leading to stone pelting from both sides, the official said.

The situation was brought under control after police intervened.

"Five persons including two policemen suffered injuries," the SP said, adding that the situation is under control.