MANDSAUR: An argument on Sunday over a marriage function having a discourse of jailed self-styled godman Rampal on an LCD screen in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh resulted in one person getting shot at and injured, police said.
Rampal, who had an ashram in Barwala in Hisar in Haryana, was held in November, 2014 following allegations of murders in the premises and was later sentenced to life imprisonment without remission in 2018 for murder, wrongful confinement and criminal conspiracy.
Sunday's incident took place in Bhainsoda Mandi village, some 150 kilometres from Mandsaur district headquarters, under Bhanpura police station limits, an official said.
"Some 200 people attended the marriage function. A few villagers opposed the discourse of Rampal being shown on an LCD screen. An argument soon turned violent and one person, identified as 55-year-old Devilal Meena, was shot at and injured by a villager," said Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar Pandey.
"Meena is critical and is undergoing treatment in Kota in neighbouring Rajasthan. The accused identified as Shailendra is absconding and efforts are on to nab him," he added.
The incident took place around 2 pm on Sunday when some 15 villagers armed with sticks reached the venue and opposed the screening of Rampal's discourse, Bhanpura police station in charge Gopal Suryavanshi said, adding that three persons, namely Kamal Patidar, Lalit Suthar and Mangal, had been detained in connection with the ruckus.
Meena, the critically injured person, is former sarpanch of Jamonia village in Mandsaur.
