Tension in MP town as 2 groups clash, police fire teargas to disperse mob

Two groups allegedly clashed and pelted each other with stones following a dispute in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar city, the police said on Sunday.

Some persons were injured in the incident which took place on Saturday night in Sadar area under Cantt police station limits, they said.

Tension prevailed in the area and the police used teargas shells to disperse the crowd.

The police registered three FIRs and a process was on to identify those involved in the incident, Cantt police station in-charge Ravindra Singh Chouhan told PTI over phone.

"There was an immediate reason behind the incident. A person was driving an auto-rickshaw and he was beaten up by a crowd following a dispute. Later, persons from another group also gathered which led to the stone-pelting incident," he said.

Superintendent of police Abhishek Tiwari said information about the dispute between the two groups was received on Saturday night.

The police used teargas shells to disperse members of both groups, he said.

Tiwari said the police were examining CCTV footage of the area and action will be taken in the matter.

Asked if the dispute started over playing a religious song following which two-three persons were attacked by a large number of people, Tiwari said the facts are being examined on the basis of statements of the injured persons, CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts and strict action will be taken.

Local Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Pradeep Laria, who reached the spot after the incident, claimed it was "pre-planned".

"It was a pre-planned incident. It is a matter of police investigation how bottles and stones were stored inside houses (in the clash-affected area). A person, named Saurabh, was attacked by a group of 250-300 persons when he was in his house and he was injured. Some others were also injured in the attack with stones and bottles," he alleged.