Clash at Udaipur palace over feud between Mewar family head and cousin, 3 injured

At least three people were injured in a clash that broke out in Udaipur on Monday after BJP MLA Vishvaraj Singh and his supporters were denied entry into City Palace, which is managed by his cousin and uncle Shreeji Arvind Singh Mewar.

Vishvaraj Singh was anointed as the head of the erstwhile royal family in Chittorgarh fort on Monday morning, following the death of his father Mahendra Singh Mewar earlier this month.

Earlier in the day, the coronation ceremony was also clouded by the lingering feud between Mahendra Singh Mewar and his estranged younger brother Arvind Singh Mewar, who issued a legal notice against Vishvaraj’s planned visit to the Eklingnath temple of the family deity and the city palace in Udaipur as part of rituals.

The row erupted when Singh, after his coronation ceremony, proceeded to the Eklingnath temple of the family deity and the City Palace in Udaipur as part of rituals, where he was stopped by his cousin and uncle Shreeji Arvind Singh Mewar.

After being stopped from entering the City Palace, a clash started between both sides and stones were thrown as the supporters of Vishvaraj Singh tried to storm the palace gates.

Visuals from the ground showed supporters of Vishvaraj Singh chanting slogans and assembling outside the City Palace.

Both the temple and the palace are under the control of Arvind Singh, who is the chairman and managing trustee of Shree Eklingji Trust in Udaipur.

On Sunday, November 24, the trust managing City Palace issued two public notices, stating that Vishvaraj Singh was not a member of the trust and that any unauthorised individuals would not be allowed into the palace museum on Monday for security reasons.

Anticipating a law and order situation, the police had set up barricades and a heavy police force was deployed outside and in the nearby areas of the City Palace.

But, when Singh was denied entry into the palace, his enraged supporters broke barricades and tried to get close to the city palace gates.

Speaking about the clashes, Vishvaraj Singh condemned them, calling it unfair to prevent the performance of royal rituals.

Senior police officials, Udaipur’s District Magistrate Arvind Poswal and SP Yogesh Goyal spoke to Vishvaraj Singh and his supporters and tried to resolve the issue. They also spoke to Arvind Singh’s son, but the talks remained inconclusive.

Meanwhile, on being questioned about the law and order situation in the area, the Udaipur Police in a post on X said, “Police officers along with the force are present on the spot, the situation is under control.”