Inebriated persons armed with sticks and sharp weapons allegedly attacked three Jain monks, who were resting in a temple, after being refused money in Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch district, leaving them injured, a police official said on Monday.
Acting swiftly, police arrested five persons and detained a minor boy -- all of them hailing from Rajasthan -- for the attack which took place in Singoli town in the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.
The assault invited strong condemnation from the Jain community, which called for a bandh in Singroli town. It evoked near total response with almost all shops remaining closed.
The state government, meanwhile, asserted such incidents will not be tolerated and culprits will be severely punished.
Accused Ganpat Nayak, Gopal Bhoe, Kanhaiya Lal, Raju Bhoe, Babu Sharma and the minor hail from Rajasthan's Chittorgarh district, which is close to Neemuch, the official said.
"Jain monks Shailesh Muni Ji, Balbhadra Muni Ji, and Munindra Muni Ji had stopped to rest at a Hanuman temple when the accused arrived there on three motorcycles and sought money from them after consuming liquor," Singoli police station SHO Bhura Lal Bhabhar told reporters.
The three monks, who sustained injuries on their heads and back, were taken to a nearby hospital, but they refused medical treatment citing religious customs that forbade them from doing so after sunset, as per police.
They were taken to a medical facility run by the Jain community after sunrise on Monday, police said.
Five of the accused were arrested and booked under stringent sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Neemuch Superintendent of Police (SP ) Ankit Jaiswal told PTI.
Assuring strict legal action against the accused, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said such incidents will not be tolerated in the state.
Talking to reporters in Indore, Mr Yadav said, "I have received information that some people misbehaved with Jain monks after consuming alcohol. We immediately formed a police team and arrested all the accused." In statement, Neemuch police said the accused have been charged for voluntarily causing hurt to extort money, rioting and joint criminal liability under sections 115 (2), 119 (1), 191 (2) and 3 (5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
