In a disturbing incident from Jhalaria Peer village in Ujjain district, Madhya Pradesh, a 65-year-old government-appointed priest and his family have been subjected to a brutal social boycott, allegedly orchestrated by local strongmen. The priest's "crime"? Opposing the shifting of an idol from a 300-year-old ancient temple-land.
A village panchayat -- run like a self-styled Khap court -- not only banned shops and services from dealing with the priest's family but even barred his grandchildren from attending school. A shocking fine of Rs 51,000 was also announced against anyone who maintained contact with them.
The entire decision, read aloud publicly by a local panchayat secretary and captured on video, has gone viral, sparking outrage.
The temple in question, Dev Dharmaraj Mandir, stands in Badnagar tehsil and has been under the care of Poonamchand 'Punaji' Chaudhary, the government-appointed priest for decades. The priest also cultivates 4-7 bighas of temple-allotted land for sustenance.
According to Punaji, a group of powerful locals, under the pretext of "temple renovation," collected donations from villagers. But instead of restoring the ancient shrine, they built a new structure without permission and attempted to move the original idol.
When Punaji opposed this move and filed a legal objection, the villagers turned on him.
On July 14, a village panchayat was convened at the Narayan temple, where the boycott decision was read out by Gokul Singh Devda, secretary to a different gram panchayat.
In a video, Devda can be seen announcing the ban on social, economic, and religious interaction with the priest's family. Villagers raised hands in agreement, and signatures were taken as proof of consensus.
The decree stated: No one will sell milk, curd, groceries to Punaji's family; sweepers will not collect garbage from their house; no community member will perform religious functions for them; their grandchildren Virat, Satish, and Sandhya would be expelled from Shri Sai Public School, where they study in Classes 3, 5, and 8; anyone assisting the family will be fined Rs 51,000.
Shockingly, the school principal complied, allegedly under local pressure, and refused to allow the children to attend classes.
A devastated Punaji approached District Collector Roshan Singh with the video evidence and a copy of the written order. The Collector has ordered an immediate inquiry.
Community leaders, meanwhile, have called the boycott 'social terrorism', likening it to Sharia-style justice.
Kamal Chaudhary, head of the Chaudhary Samaj, said, "This is not a village panchayat. It is an illegal court run by bullies. We demand action against every individual involved, especially the government-employed secretary who announced the boycott".
Behind the boycott lies an ugly battle for land, say locals. The temple's 7 bighas are fertile and valuable.
"They are trying to evict us in the name of religious reorganisation," said Punaji's son Kamal. "They want to push us out by isolating us socially, economically, and now, educationally," he added.
