(MENAFN- IANS) Damoh, March 29 (IANS) A group of people in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh on Saturday blackened a municipal official's face, hurled abuses and left him with a warning that they will beat him up if he dares to hurt the sentiment of Hindus again.

A video of the incident surfaced on social media showing two men approaching Chief Municipal Official (CMO), Pradeep Sharma, at his residence in Damoh city.

As Sharma comes out of his home, they overpower him and blacken his face.

Subsequently, Sharma was seen talking to a police official on the phone to inform about the incident.

“They have reached my home and blackened my face,” Sharma was heard talking to the ASP in the viral video.

The incident comes a day after the Damoh municipality removed Hindu religious flags from the Ghantaghar area in the city.

The municipality's decision did not go down well with the Hindu religious organisations, who staged protests on Saturday.

Reports said that people who blackened CMO's face are said to be members of the Hindu Sangathan, and they were annoyed with CMO's order to remove religious flags from the Ghantaghar area in the city.

On Saturday, the members of Hindu Sagathan staged a protest, which resulted in traffic snarls in Damoh city. However, senior administrative and police officials reached the spot and took the situation under control within hours.

Damoh district president of Vishva Hindu Parishad (BJP) Annu Khatri said that CMO Sharma has hurt the Hindu sentiment, and he should apologise.

“We have handed over a memorandum to Damoh SP and Collector and have demanded strict action against CMO,” he said.

Damoh SP Shrutkirti Somvansi told media persons that there was some miscommunication, which led to a controversy.

“An investigation has been initiated in the matter and the report will be submitted in the next week,” he said.

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