Firing at MP marriage function over godman's discourse: 1 dead, 3 held, main accused on the run

A man who was shot following an argument at a marriage function over a discourse of jailed self-styled godman Rampal being shown on an LCD screen in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh has died, police said on Monday.

The incident in Bhainsoda Mandi village here, some 150 kilometres from Mandsaur district headquarters, had taken place on Sunday under Bhanpura police station limits, and cases were registered against 15 persons, three of whom have now been arrested, an official said.

Rampal, who had an ashram in Barwala in Hisar in Haryana, was held in November, 2014 following allegations of murders in the premises and was later sentenced to life imprisonment without remission in 2018 for murder, wrongful confinement and criminal conspiracy.

"Main accused Shailendra Meena, who had shot 55-year-old Devilal Meena, former sarpanch of Jamonia village, during the dispute is still absconding. Devilal was declared dead by doctors after being referred to a hospital in Kota in Rajasthan. A case was registered against 15 people and three have been arrested," Bhanpura police station in charge Gopal Suryavanshi said on Monday.

The arrested accused have been identified as Kamal Patidar, Lalit Suthar and Mangal, he said.

Earlier on Monday, Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar Pandey had said some 200 people attended the marriage function, and a group of villagers opposed the discourse of Rampal being shown on an LCD screen, leading to an argument and firing.

A video of the incident has also emerged in which the accused is seen holding a gun.