Trouble broke out when the police stopped some sadhus from moving towards the danger mark in the Mansi Ganga pond for taking bath.

Enraged, the group of sadhus damaged the barricading erected around the pond and attacked and seriously injured a deputy SP, besides fighting a pitched battle with the policemen for over an hour.

“The group of sadhus was under influence of drugs (ganja) when they got into a heated exchange with the police team deployed around the barricading in the pond. The sadhus insisted on taking bath at the unsafe point in the pond while the policemen stopped them,” said Mathura SSP BD Paulson.

According to the SSP, the sadhus then damaged the barricading. Circle Officer (Sadar) Ashutosh Dwivedi rushed to the scene and tried to pacify the angry sadhus. “But the sadhus attacked the CO with sticks causing him head injuries and started throwing stones at other policemen,” Paulson added.

Later, the district magistrate and the SSP rushed to the scene and the policemen had to apply force on sadhus to disperse them. The injured CO was admitted to a hospital in Agra where his condition was said to be stable.

A case has been registered against the troublemakers and five sadhus arrested. The SSP said the violence by sadhus could have led to a stampede.