200 injured in stone-pelting ritual in this Madhya Pradesh village

Chhindwara superintendent of police, Manoj Rai said there was no mishap reported this year.

Over 200 people were injured in a 300-year-old stone-pelting ritual in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district on Saturday.

Gotmar (stone-pelting) mela is an annual ritual in which which residents of two villages—Pandhurna and Sawargaon—throw stones at each other until a flag hoisted in the middle of the banks of Jaam river is brought down by one the two groups. (ANI)

Police said around 45 of them were taken to a hospital for treatment due to serious injuries, police said.

Gotmar (stone-pelting) mela is an annual ritual in which which residents of two villages—Pandhurna and Sawargaon—throw stones at each other until a flag hoisted in the middle of the banks of Jaam river is brought down by one the two groups.

There was heavy police deployment for Saturday. The ritual was also being monitored with the help of CCTV and drone cameras.

Chhindwara superintendent of police, Manoj Rai said there was no mishap reported this year. “We took many preventive measures by holding meetings. We released a warning that if anyone is found in an inebriated state and uses a slingshot, a police case will be registered,” Rai said.

According to police, more than 300 people were injured in the incident in 2018 and more than 500 people were injured in the incident in 2017.

Despite efforts from the government and the administration, the annual fair is held every year. The administration has been trying to convince the villagers to use rubber balls instead of stones but to no avail.