Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): A man was arrested for allegedly putting up a board near a temple which stated that Dalits were not allowed inside the temple built on a piece of land that belonged to him in Lohri village of Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh, police said on Thursday, July 20.
"The incident took place on Wednesday, July 19 at the Lohri village, about 120 km from Dhar. The accused, Prahlad Vishwakarma, has built a temple on his land and put up a board near it stating that the place of worship was not a public property but a private one", Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Devendra Patidar said.
'Dalits will not be allowed to enter the temple', the board put on by Vishwakarma displayed, said Patidar. The ASP said that Dalit community members and Bhim Army members held a protest sit-in in front of the temple. Upon getting information, the Kukshi police swung into action, reached the spot, and held a dialogue with the protesters to broker peace, the ASP said.
Vishwakarma was booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and was arrested. He later publicly apologised for his action and pulled down the board, the police officer informed.
Earlier, on July 10, a Dalit man was allegedly assaulted by a group of people with burning sticks when he entered a temple to offer prayers in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district. The incident took place when 23-year-old Bittu Ram Bagat, visited the Chandi Mata Mandir in the Chatargala village.
