22 arrested in Meerut for 'disrupting' peace during Gurjar Mahapanchayat

Meerut (UP), Sep 22 (PTI) Police in Meerut have arrested 22 persons for assembling without permission, and disrupting peace and law and order in the Daurala police station area of the district during a Gurjar Mahapanchayat in neighbouring Dadri, officials said on Monday.

In a statement issued on Monday evening, police said the other accused persons have been identified and action is being initiated according to the law.

According to police, Section 163 of the BNSS is in force in Meerut district in view of the upcoming festivals.

Some individuals from other districts attempted to disrupt law and order by gathering in a public place without permission, police said.

When stopped, they began pelting stones, prompting police to register an FIR and launch legal action, they said.

According to sources, the dispute pertains to a banner displayed on the Mihir Bhoj memorial gate located near Sardhana.

Mihir Bhoj was a powerful ninth century ruler of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. Both Gurjars and Rajputs of the area stake claim to Mihir Bhoj, with the former claiming the king belonged to their caste, while the latter says 'Gurjara' referred to a place, and not any caste.

Gurjar community leader Abhinav Motala convened a Gurjar Swabhiman Mahapanchayat on the issue on Sunday in Dadri for which hundreds of community members thronged the venue at Swami Virjanand Inter College, which the police locked.

According to police, the administration did not grant permission for the event.

Trouble started when police detained several people, including Ravindra Bhati, the national president of the Rashtriya Veer Gurjar Sangharsh Samiti, near the Dadri Morh on NH-58.

According to locals, the crowd became enraged and began pelting stones on the policemen.

Strict and effective measures are being taken to maintain peace and law and order in the district, police said on Monday. PTI COR NAV ARI