Three tribals killed while attempting to rob liquor shop in MP’s Mandsaur

Three men from a nomadic community were killed while attempting to rob a liquor shop at Khetakheda village in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district late on Sunday, police said on Monday.

Three men from a nomadic community were killed while attempting to rob a liquor shop at Khetakheda village in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district late on Sunday, police said on Monday.

The three men killed all hailed from a nomadic community which had been classified as a “criminal tribe” during the British Raj. (Representative Photo)

Khetakheda sarpanch Ashok Suryavanshi said the three armed men came to the liquor shop on Kayampura road under Sitamau police station limit on a motorcycle without a number plate.

As the trio tried to rob the shop, employees foiled their bid and started bashing them. The men started firing at the shop workers and in retaliation, they too fired a few rounds at them. The three men sustained bullet injuries and died on the spot, Suryavanshi said.

Six villagers, including a 13-year-old child, were also injured in the incident. All the injured have been admitted at Mandsaur district hospital and some of them are said to be in serious condition.

Police have recovered one 12 bore gun from the spot and investigation is on in the matter, sub-divisional police officer HS Parmar said.

After the incident, heavy police force has been deployed in Khetakheda fearing other members of the Kanjar community may attack the village to avenge the deaths.

The nomadic community was once outlawed by the British and castigated as being a “criminal tribe”.

The tribe was decriminalised after Independence, but their unsavoury past and continuing criminal activity by a section of the tribe is making the transition difficult for the entire population.