Group of people force entry into temple in MP thrash priest

    Dewas (MP), Apr 13 (PTI) A group of people forcibly entered the famous Mata Tekri temple in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas city after it had closed for the night and allegedly beat up its priest as he refused to let them in, police said.
    While the opposition Congress claimed the son of a BJP MLA was part of the group, police did not confirm the allegation.
    As per the complaint lodged by the priest at the Kotwali police station here, Jitu Raghuvanshi, who has a past criminal record, arrived at the temple late Friday night with others in a fleet of eight to 10 cars.
    The group members allegedly asked the priest to open the gates, and when he refused, he was allegedly abused and beaten up, City Superintendent of Police Dinesh Agrawal told reporters on Saturday.
    An FIR was registered against them and the footage of some 50 CCTV cameras was being examined, he said.
    Asked if the son of a BJP leader led the group, Agrawal told reporters that the case was under investigation.
    Some videos on social media showed a couple of cars with red beacons in the fleet which arrived at the foot of the hilltop temple.
    Dewas city Congress president Manoj Rajani said a certain BJP MLA should keep an eye on his son "who did such an act despite being a Sanatani".

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)