A case was registered on Tuesday against Shaligram Garg, younger brother of spiritual leader Dhirendra Shastri, and three of his associates for allegedly assaulting a man and firing at least three shots at him over a land dispute in Chhatarpur district, police said.
The incident took place on Tuesday afternoon in Kuda village under Rajnagar police station area.
Shastri, president of Bageshwar Dham Religious Centre, said he had nothing to do with Garg and if found guilty, the latter should be punished according to the law.
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Superintendent of Police Rajat Saklecha said that the police rushed to the spot after being alerted and admitted the injured man, Moti Kushwaha (30), to the district hospital.
According to Kushwaha’s complaint, he was at home when Garg and three others called him. As soon as he left, he was attacked with sticks. They also shot him, and one of the bullets hit his ear, another in his stomach, and a third in his body.
Kushwaha told police that he was scheduled to testify on behalf of Jugal Kishore Pandey in the land grabbing case against Shaligram Garg, and this led to the attack.
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Doctors spotted a bullet-like object in his body in an X-ray, the SP said, adding that a case has been registered against Shaligram Garg, Satish, Ashish and another person under relevant sections of the BNS.
Dhirendra Shastri said that he had stated three years ago that Shaligram Garg had nothing to do with the family.
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“The whole world is my family. The whole community is my family. I live for the community, for the nation, for Sanatan Dharma. Chhatarpur district and my family here are very big, so one thing or the other keeps happening. The (guilty) should be punished by law,” he said.
The official said that no one has been arrested so far.
