MP man ‘bans’ entry of Dalits in temple built on his land; arrested

Dhar (MP), Jul 20 (PTI) A man has been arrested for allegedly putting up a board stating that Dalits were not allowed inside a temple built on a piece of land belonging to him at a village in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Thursday.

The incident took place on Wednesday at Lohri village under Kukshi tehsil, about 120 km from the district headquarters, a police officer said.

The man, 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 Devendra Patidar said.

“Dalits are strictly forbidden from entering the temple”, read the board put up by him, Patidar said.

He said members of the Dalit community and Bhim Army activists staged a sit-in near the temple to protest against the “ban”.

Upon getting information, the Kukshi police swung into action and reached the spot and held 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 arrested, he said.

The accused later publicly apologized for his act and pulled down the board, said the police officer.