Former minister Grover, other BJP leaders held hostage by villagers

Chandigarh: Former Haryana minister Manish Grover and some other BJP leaders were held hostage by villagers at a temple in Kiloi village of Rohtak district of Haryana where they had gone to watch live telecast of PM Narendra Modi's visit to Kedarnath.

They were later "released" after several rounds of negotiations by the district authorities.

Hundreds of villagers assembled near the temple after news spread that Grover and other BJP leaders had come to the village temple.

The protesters specifically singled out Grover, who they alleged had used objectionable language against farmers.

The BJP leaders and other party members were stuck in the temple for nearly eight hours as the standoff continued over the protesters' demand for the former minister to offer an apology.

The villagers parked tractor trolleys around the temple to stop the BJP leaders from moving out.

Cops from the neighbouring districts had also to be summoned to control the situation.

The stalemate ended when Grover emerged out with folded hands on camera and apologised to the farmers.

After this, Grover and others who were confined to the temple were allowed to go.

The other leaders who had been held hostage inside the temple were Ravindra Raju, Mayor Manmohan Goyal, BJP district chief Ajay Bansal and party leader Satish Nandal.

Grover, however, denied having apologized and said he merely greeted villagers with folded hands.