Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): The dispute over caste of Samrat Mihir Bhoj is refusing to die down. Over 100 people belonging to a particular community pelted stones on administration and police teams in Gwalior late on Saturday night.
An additional superintendent of police (ASP) rank police officer and two constables have sustained injuries in the attack. The police had to shell tear gas to disperse the unruly mobs that were opposing the administration’s action to cover the nameplate of King Mihir Bhoj’s statue.
While hearing a petition, the Gwalior bench of the High Court on Saturday instructed the district administration to cover the nameplate of Bhoj’s statue until the dispute over Bhoj's caste is settled. The court also ordered for constituting a committee to resolve the issue.
Sources said that some anti-social elements had spread rumours, soon after court's order, that the nameplate of Bhoj would be removed by the administration. Therefore, a large number of people belonging to the Gurjar community assembled near the statue of King Mihir Bhoj. The statue of the King is situated on Dabra road.
Later, district collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh and senior police officers of the district held a peace talk with senior citizens of the Gurjar community and persuaded them that the nameplate was not being removed.
Talking to journalists, Kaushlendra Vikram Singh said that the district administration had urged people of both communities to maintain a law and order situation in the town. “The matter is already under consideration in the court. No will be allowed to disturb the law and order situation in the district,” he said.
He further added that the nameplate of the statue had been covered as per High Court’s order.
A dispute between the members of the Rajput and Gurjar communities has been going on over which caste Samrat Mihir Bhoj belonged to. While Rajput claims that the ninth-century king Mihir Bhoj belongs to the Rajput community, Gurjar claims that Bhoj was their ancestor.