New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former MLA from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district Atar Singh Bhadana was allegedly beaten to death by a group of 70 to 80 people on Sunday (October 11) evening. The incident took place in Bhonda village of Bharatpur at Bhadana’s stone-crusher plant. The 68-year-old, along with his aide Gagan Sharma, were reportedly attacked with sticks and stones.According to the police, the incident is suspected to be linked to a long-standing dispute over the stone-crusher plant. Bharatpur superintendent of police Rajesh Meena told The Indian Express that Bhadana’s has lodged a complaint against 35 to 40 people in connection to the killing. While 12 people have been taken into custody, several others are under investigation.Due to the severity of his injuries, Bhadana was shifted from a local hospital in Weir to Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur at around 11.30 pm on Sunday, where was declared dead on arrival. Sharma, who also sustained serious injuries, is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Bharatpur.Assistant superintendent of SMS hospital Pradeep Sharma said Bhadana had no pulse when he arrives at hospital and was suffering from multiple fractures and severe head injuries, The Indian Express reported.According to a PTI report quoting police officials, Bhadana had long faced accusations of encroaching upon land meant for grazing and carrying out illegal mining by other villagers. The unit, where the incident took place, had been shut down for nearly a year and Bhadana had been hoping to restart operations.Villagers had already been protesting at the site for the last fortnight or so before Bhadana arrived at the plant on Sunday evening. They claimed that Bhadana attempted to have them removed from the site, after which his men attacked them, reported PTI.Political reactionsFormer MLA and Congress leader Pralhad Gunjal described the incident as a “mob lynching” and questioned the state of the law and order condition in the BJP-ruled state.Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, who is also a former chief minister of Rajasthan, criticised the state government and emphasised that the incident occurred in the home district of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. “When 70-80 people surround and beat a former MLA to death…then in this regime, God himself is the protector of the common man,” Gehlot wrote on X.मुख्यमंत्री के गृह जिले भरतपुर में भाजपा के पूर्व विधायक श्री अतर सिंह भड़ाना की हत्या हो गई। यह राजस्थान में कानून-व्यवस्था के पूरी तरह चरमरा जाने का सबूत है। जब एक पूर्व विधायक को दिनदहाड़े 70-80 लोग घेरकर मार दें, तो आम आदमी का तो राम ही रखवाला है इस राज में।खबरों के अनुसार यह विवाद करीब दो साल से चल रहा था। दो साल तक पुलिस और प्रशासन क्या करता रहा? जब चेतावनी साफ थी, तब कार्रवाई क्यों नहीं हुई? यह हत्या पुलिस-प्रशासन की नाकामी का नतीजा है। जिस सरकार में अपने ही पूर्व विधायक सुरक्षित नहीं, वह जनता को सुरक्षा का भरोसा कैसे दे सकती है?— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) October 12, 2026Talking about the police and administration’s failure to take action over the last two years, through which the dispute had been continuing, Gehlot said,”What were the police and administration doing for two years? When the warnings were clear, why was no action taken?”He added that the government needed to clarify how it could make promises of public safety if even a former MLA was not secure.Bhadana became an MLA after he contested the Bayana assembly seat on a BJP ticket in 2003. In 2008, he switched to the Congress but later returned to the BJP to serve as president of the party’s Kisan Morcha in Rajasthan.