Bhopal, May 5 (IANS): Two days after two tribal men were lynched by a group of people in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district on suspicion of cow smuggling, the police have detained 14 persons for interrogation in connection with the case.

Some people reached Simaria village under Kurai police station in Seoni district in the wee hours of Tuesday after coming to know of alleged cow smuggling in the area.

They started beating those who were allegedly involved in the act. Two people were killed and one person received serious injuries in the incident. In protest, members of the tribal community blocked a stretch of National Highway 44, demanding justice.

According to the police, the victims were identified as Dhansa (54) and Sampat Batti (60)

The police said that out of the 14 persons detained, nine were held within 24 hours of the incident, while the others were detained later.

The state government has provided an ex-gratia of Rs 8.5 lakh to the kin of the deceased and assured a job to one member each from their family.

The incident triggered a political controversy in the region with local Congress MLA Arjun Singh Kakodiya alleging that those involved in the lynching were associated with the Bajrang Dal.

The state Congress leadership has also sharpened its attack on the ruling BJP and has formed its own team to prepare a report of the incident.

The incident came nearly two weeks after Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the state and addressed a gathering of tribals in Bhopal on April 22. During the event, the state government had announced several beneficiary schemes for the tribal communities.