2 min readBhopalFeb 14, 2026 07:40 AM IST
A routine traffic dispute in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas erupted into a controversy this week after a local BJP leader was arrested for allegedly obstructing a district judge, police said. Subsequently, properties linked to the accused, which were allegedly built illegally on government land, were demolished.
Pankaj Gharu, a senior member of the BJP’s Dewas unit, was taken into custody on Wednesday, following a heated confrontation with Dewas District and Additional Sessions Judge Prasanna Singh Bahrawat on a congested road near Jai Shri Nagar Colony on Tuesday morning. A second accused, Bhim Gharu, was arrested hours later. A third suspect remains at large.
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The incident, a video of which has gone viral, purportedly shows an angry exchange near Green Colony in Dewas, where the judge said he was blocked from proceeding to court by an SUV parked in the middle of the road at around 10.15 am.
According to police, when the judge requested the occupants to move the vehicle, “they shouted at him and prevented the judge from opening his car door”.
Within 24 hours of the judge’s complaint, the district administration deployed bulldozers to raze what officials described as illegal encroachments on government land, including a poultry farm along Maxi Bypass and structures near Gharu’s residence.
“We had issued multiple notices in the past two years to remove these encroachments,” said Tehsildar Sapna Sharma. “Since they did not comply, we had to use force. The structures were illegal and built on government land. Due process was followed.”
