Puttur: groups clash at Bhajana Mandir premises; 4 hospitalized

Team Udayavani, Mar 14, 2022, 3:31 PM IST

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Puttur: Four persons were reportedly injured in a group clash at a bhajana mandir at Doddakda in Aryapu village here on Sunday.

The fight broke out over a land dispute while a group of villagers was cleaning the surroundings of the bhajana mandir, local media reported. Both the groups filed counter complaints against each other at the Puttur Rural police station.

The injured were identified as Sarojini (59), wife of Doddadka Kogga Acharya of the same village, her son Narayana (35), Poovakka Naika (44), and his wife Premalatha (40). They have been hospitalized for treating the injuries sustained.

According to the report, there was a dispute over the ownership of the land of the bhajana mandir. As per Narayana, one of the injured in the incident, the land where the mandir is built was allotted to the family in 1991 under the Akrama Sakrama scheme. His father, Kogga Acharya built the mandir on this land and allowed people in the area to hold worship. However, a bhajana mandali was later formed and it used the land for their personal use, Naryana was quoted as saying.

Narayana further added that on Sunday a group of 50 people arrived at the spot. His mother Sarojini questioned them for trespassing and asked them to leave the private property. The group headed by Poovakka Naika and his wife Premalatha beat up his mother and tried to kill her, he said and added that the group also assaulted them with wooden sticks.

Poovakka Naika, an assault victim from the other group involved, had a different version of the events that transpired. According to him the anniversary celebrations of the bhajana mandir were planned for April 29. The group was cleaning the surroundings in preparations for the big event. He alleged that Sarojini, Narayana, Poojashree, and Deepa picked a fight with the group and assaulted them.

Meanwhile, police have taken up the investigation into the matter.