Stones pelted at garba venue in MP, govt razes houses of three accused

Bhopal: Stones were hurled at a garba pandal in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district following a dispute between two groups, police said on Tuesday, adding 19 persons have been booked and houses of three of them razed by officials for "illegal" construction. The stone pelting incident occurred on October 2 night at Surjani village under the Sitamau police station limits in Mandsaur district, about 345 km away from the state capital, in which four persons were injured, he said.

"After receiving information about stone pelting at a garba pandal due to a dispute between two groups, the police reached the spot and brought the situation under control," Superintendent of Police (SP) Anurag Sujania told reporters. A case was registered against 19 persons and seven of them were detained after a probe, he said, adding that some of the accused are habitual offenders.

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The SP said the illegal construction of more than 4,500 sq ft worth more than Rs 4.5 crore, belonging to three of the accused, was demolished on Tuesday with the help of the revenue department. A case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 307 (attempt to murder) for hurling stones at the pandal, the police officer added.

According to police sources, a man named Salman was performing stunts on a motorcycle and a quarrel erupted between him and another man. Later, Salman and his associates reached the garba venue to look for the person with whom he had fought and the matter escalated into stone pelting, they said.