Three members of Muslim family attacked, home set afire in MP Home Minister’s home district Datia

Panic prevailed at Ikona village in Madhya Pradesh Home Minister’s home district Datia on Saturday night after four assailants thrashed a Muslim family and set their home on fire over a land dispute.

According to the police, Ikona village, located 15 km away from the district headquarter, falls under the Dheerpur police station. The victims, Abbu Nut (36), a farm labourer, and his wife Bismillah Nut and sister-in-law Sajna Nut, were at home when fellow villagers, Raja Bhaiya Gurjar, Rampal Gurjar, Ramawtar Gurjar and Balli Gurjar broke in and attacked them with sticks and iron rods.

As per the FIR lodged later, they were attacked over a land dispute. A source in the police claimed that the attackers often hurled abuses at the family owing to the dispute and threatened them of dire consequence if they didn’t vacate the land in question. The victims had reported the same to the police, but it paid no heed to the complaint.

When villagers began to gather near the house after hearing the wails of the victims, the assailants escaped after setting the home, made of paddy straw, on fire. Following calls from villagers, the police reached the spot and rushed all three victims, who reportedly sustained severe injuries, to the district hospital.

The Dheerpur police registered an FIR against the four accused under sections 452, 435, 323, 294 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (trespassing, assault, abuse) and arrested them a few hours after the incident sensing the gravity of the incident.

Confirming the same, Town Inspector of Dheerpur police station Ashutosh Sharma said, “A Muslim family was attacked by four men on Saturday over a land dispute in Ikona village on Saturday. The victims received injuries, but no casualties were reported.”

A case was registered against attackers under relevant sections of IPC and the police arrested them after carrying out raids on their suspected hideouts, he added.

Heavy police force has been deployed in the village after the incident to prevent any untoward incident in the village, which has a mixed population, said Superintendent of Police, Datia, Aman Singh Rathore.

In a similar incident in the same district, on November 21, miscreants had thrashed two members of a Dalit family and burnt a portion of their house in Chirgai village. They escaped from the village after firing gunshots in the air. The SP had formed a probe team to look into the matter, but the accused have not been apprehended even after three weeks of the incident.