Ballia, Oct 21 Armed men allegedly stormed a Ramleela stage and attacked Mahamandaleshwar Kaushlendra Giri, a BJP leader and priest at Shri Nath Baba Math, police said on Wednesday.
Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar was present at the venue when the alleged attack happened. BJP district president Sanjay Mishra said Giri is a local BJP leader.
An FIR has been registered against three named accused and some unidentified persons on charges of attempt to murder, assault and rioting while armed with deadly weapons, they said.
According to the FIR, the incident took place on Tuesday evening at the premises of Shri Nath Baba Math in Rasra town, where Giri was watching the Ramleela along with Panchayati Raj Minister Rajbhar.
The accused, allegedly armed with weapons, climbed onto the stage and attacked Giri with the intention of killing him, the complaint stated.
When Giri’s associate, Rupesh Tiwari, intervened, the accused allegedly assaulted him as well. The attackers fled the scene, taking advantage of the commotion and the gathering of people, the FIR said.
Giri sustained injuries in the attack and was rushed to a hospital.
The case was registered late Tuesday night at Rasra police station against Satish Singh, Sanjeet Gupta, Monu Jaiswal and unidentified persons.
Rasra Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajneesh Kumar said police were trying to arrest the accused.
Ballia Superintendent of Police Dr Iraj Raja said members of the Ramleela committee had a pre-existing dispute with some other members.
(PTI News)
