A local panchayat in the Guna district of Madhya Pradesh allegedly ostracised a family from their community for not donating their entire land for the construction of a temple.

Hira Lal Ghosi, a resident of the Shivaji Nagar area in Guna, approached the district collector on Tuesday alleging that the panchayat was asking him to carry shoes on his head, shave off his beard and administer cow urine to his family members if they wanted to return to the community fold.

Ghosi also told the district collector that the dispute had initially started over the donation of land owned by the family for the construction of a temple.

“Our family donated part of the said land for construction of the temple, but the panchayat members wanted the entire piece of land. When we refused, our family was ostracised from the community with a condition that no one would go to our house and that no one from the community would be allowed to marry in the family,” Ghosi told the district collector.

While the panchayat announced the diktat, Ghosi recorded the incident on his phone, which further enraged the panchayat members.

Following this, a further condition was set on the family. Ghosi alleged that apart from donating the entire piece of land, his family was asked to consume cow urine for purification and carry their shoes on their heads. The head of the family was also asked to shave off his beard, Ghosi said.

“The entire dispute is over land which I own. I have already donated part of my land for construction of the temple but they want the entire land which will render us landless,” Ghosi said.

Confirming the incident, District collector Frank Nobel said that Ghosi had approached him with his complaint following which an enquiry was ordered.

“Appropriate action as per law would be taken if the complaint is found to be true,” the district collector said.