Jaipur, Jul 11 (PTI) Members of a family from Madhya Pradesh, who were visiting a temple in Rajasthan’s Sikar district, were allegedly beaten up for taking shelter in front of a shop during rain on Friday, police said.
Two shopkeepers and two employees were arrested in connection with the incident, they said.
According to police, a family of around eight people, which included three women and a minor girl, had come to worship at the Khatu Shyam temple in Sikar.
As it was pouring, they stood in front of a shop near the temple. When the shopkeeper asked them to vacate the premises, they requested him to let them stay until the rain passed. However, he insisted that they move out.
The family moved out of the premise, but the shopkeeper kept arguing with them. When a female member of the family objected to his behaviour, he turned aggressive. A nearby shopkeeper and both of their employees joined in. They allegedly wielded sticks and started hitting the family, causing the locals to alert the police.
Police who reached the spot, apprehended four people, including the two shopkeepers.
The family later gave a formal police complaint, after which the accused were arrested.
Khatu Shyamji Station House Officer Pawan Kumar said that five people were involved in assaulting the family. Of them, four people — Mangilal, Meghraj, Rajkumar and Rakesh — were arrested, while one person was absconding.
“The family members were standing at a shop during the rain. The altercation began when the shopkeeper asked them to move out of there,” he said.
Talking to reporters, one of the victims said that his family was visiting the temple and had briefly stopped in front of a shop due to the rain, when the shopkeeper started misbehaving.
“The shopkeeper asked us to go ahead and not stand there. We took it casually and moved ahead but he kept arguing with my mother-in-law and turned aggressive,” he said.
He further said that a second man sitting in the shop came out with a stick. “Before we could gauge the situation, other people joined in and started beating us for no reason. My family members were injured in the incident,” he added. PTI SDA RUK RUK
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