Ex-BJP MLA killed by villagers over mining dispute in Rajasthan's Bharatpur

Former BJP MLA Atar Singh Bhadana was killed after a clash with villagers allegedly over a mining lease and a crusher plant in Rajasthan's Bharatpur on Monday.

Haryana native Bhadana was elected as a BJP MLA from the Bayana assembly constituency in Rajasthan in 2003, a seat he held until 2008.

The incident took place in Bhonda village under Weir police station on Sunday late evening, when Bhadana reached his mining lease.

Hundreds of villagers from Bhonda village gathered and allegedly attacked him with lathis. He was rushed to Weir Community Health Centre, where doctors referred him to Jaipur due to his critical condition. His bodyguard, Gagan Sharma, was also referred to the district Raj Bahadur Memorial hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.

Bhadana was declared dead in the Swai Maan Singh hospital of Jaipur by the doctors on Sunday midnight.

What we know

He had a mining lease and a crusher plant near the hills of Bhonda village. The mining lease was in his wife Kamlesh Bhadana's name.

The villagers of Bhonda and Raipur villages have been agitating against the mining lease and the crusher plant for two years. They had even staged dharnas and blocked the road to the mining lease many times.

Agitating villagers alleged that Bhadana was using the gram panchayat's pasture land to pass mining vehicles. The crusher plant had been blocked by the villagers for two years, while he was trying to restart it with the support of the administration.

After obtaining the court's permission to operate the crusher plant, Bhadana restarted it on Sunday, but a large number of villagers arrived and allegedly began attacking.

Weir police station in-charge Dhirendra Singh said that police reached the spot after being informed about a clash between villagers and the crusher plant owner. Bhadana was referred to Jaipur by the doctors, but he was declared dead upon reaching.

Police teams are conducting raids to search for and arrest the attackers.