Five men were killed and two seriously injured in clashes over goat grazing at a village in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh. Datia is part of the assembly constituency of state home minister Dr Narottam Mishra.
Among the dead are four young men and an elderly man.
The clash followed an argument as two groups met to resolve a dispute over goat grazing.
Datia Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma said members of two communities -- Dangi and Pal -- had gathered in the village on Wednesday to amicably resolve the dispute.
But there was an argument which took a violent turn, and guns were fired.
"So far 6 men from both the sides have been detained for questioning and case registered in the matter," he said.
Five men -- four of them in their 30s and one aged above 70 -- were killed. Two others have been seriously injured and are in hospital.
Of the five men who died, three were from the Dangi community, the other two were Pals. Both groups belong to the Other Backward Classes category.
The victims have been identified as Prakash Dangi, Ramnaresh Dangi, Surendra Dangi, Rajendra Pal, and Raghavendra Pal, all of whom died of gunshot wounds.
A large number of police personnel have been stationed in the area in view of the tension.
