In Delhi, 22 people, including two juveniles, have been held in connection with mob violence during Hanuman Jayanti processions in Jahangirpuri.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been clamped in Hubballi city in Karnataka after communal violence over a social media post left 12 police personnel injured.
Incidents of flare-up during Hanuman Jayanti processions were also reported from Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Here are the key developments …
Delhi
Uneasy calm prevailed over Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, a day after two communities clashed during Hanuman Jayanti processions.
The Delhi Police have arrested 22 people over the violence, including the “main conspirators” behind the clashes and another person who allegedly fired a bullet that hit a sub-inspector, officials said on Sunday.
Two juveniles have also been apprehended in connection with the incident, they said.
Police said there was stone-pelting and arson during the clashes between two communities that left eight police personnel and a local injured. Some vehicles were also torched.
The officials said the case has been transferred to the Crime Branch which with the help of the district police will carry out further investigation in the case.
Police officials said that Ansar (35), a resident of Jahangirpuri, is alleged to be among the “main conspirators” behind the violence. Cops said he was also found to be previously involved in two cases of assault, and was also arrested repeatedly under preventive sections and booked five times under the Gambling Act and the Arms Act.
Ansar’s wife, however, told reporters that her husband is innocent and was not part of any violence.
Meanwhile, there was heavy police deployment in the Jahangirpuri area on Sunday where the clashes took place. Flag marches were also being carried out along with foot and motorcycle patrolling. Drones were also used in the process to oversee the activities and ensure no untoward incidents takes place.
Karnataka
In Hubbali, a mob went on a rampage, attacking police personnel, a hospital and a temple over a social media post on Sunday.
According to Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Labhu Ram, a police complaint had been lodged on an objectionable social media post after which a person was arrested.
Not satisfied with the action, some people gathered around the police station but were persuaded to disperse. Around midnight, a large number of people once again started gathering around the police station and indulged in heavy stone-pelting
About a dozen police officers sustained injuries in the incident, the police said, adding several police vehicles, a nearby hospital and a Hanuman temple were damaged.
Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai termed it an organised attack and said the state will not tolerate such incidents. He also appealed to the people not to give a different political colour to this incident as it should be looked at from the law and order point of view.
“It was a pre-planned attack. The miscreants wanted to create Devara Jeevanahalli and Kadugondahalli like incident in Hubballi,” state home minister Araga Jnanendra said.
Andhra Pradesh
Members of two communities clashed during a Hanuman Jayanti procession at in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday night.
When the procession reached a mosque in the village, the Jayanti organisers switched off the mike, in reverence to the Ramzan observation. But some devotees allegedly chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans, police officials said.
Irked by this, some people started pelting stones at the Hanuman Jayanti procession and the other side retaliated, police said.
Additional police force was deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
Though there was tension, the situation has returned to normal after the police intervened and pacified both sides.
Uttarakhand
In Uttarakhand, stones were pelted at a Hanuman Jayanti procession while it was crossing through a village in Bhagwanpur area near Roorkee in Haridwar district on Saturday evening, leaving four people injured.
Tension mounted in the area as people from adjoining villages gathered, but the timely intervention by police brought the situation under control, DIG Garhwal range K S Nagnyal said.
Nine people were arrested and an FIR against 13 was lodged in connection with the incident.
Stones were hurled at the procession from rooftops when it was passing through Dada Jalalpur village. It triggered a stampede-like situation as people in the procession began to run for cover but the police were informed immediately and the situation was brought under control, Haridwar’s SP (rural) Pramendra Dobhal said.
Communal tensions on the rise
Since April 2, several incidents of communal clashes have been reported during Hindu religious processions, including on Ram Navami on April 10. Hindu and Muslim outfits have accused each other provoking the violence.
Top leaders of 13 opposition parties had on Saturday expressed deep concern over the recent incidents of hate speech and communal violence in the country, and urged people to maintain peace and harmony.
In a joint statement, the leaders including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, alleged that issues relating to food, dress, faith, festivals and language “are being deliberately used by the ruling establishment to polarise society”.
However, the BJP hit back and alleged the “ideology of appeasement” pursued over the last 70 years is responsible for the communal riots across the country.
Taking on opposition leaders over their joint statement, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said on Sunday this “selective politics” of opposition is harmful to the country.
Khargone city in Madhya Pradesh had witnessed communal clashes on Ram Navami last Sunday when stones were hurled, vehicles torched and some houses damaged, leading to the clamping of curfew in the entire city. Superintendent of Police Siddharth Choudhary had received a bullet injury.
With the situation returning to normalcy, the administration relaxed the curfew for four hours on Sunday morning
So far, 44 cases have been registered in connection with the violence and 148 people have been taken into custody, in-charge Superintendent of Police (SP) Rohit Kashwani said.
(With inputs from PTI)