After evening prayers at Sadar Mosque in Odisha, chaos erupted when a bomb was hurled from a flyover, and hit people as well as a motorcycle outside the mosque. The bomb was hidden in a box which had the Instagram handle ‘sbp mafiya gang’ on it, as reported by The Observer Post.
The incident took place at Pirbaba Chowk which comes under the jurisdiction of Sambalpur Town Police Station.
Sambalpur Superintendent of Police, Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo, assured reporters that the injured people’s health is now stable, and the situation is being closely monitored and under control. Himansu Lal, IG of the northern range, and SP Mukesh Bhamoo swiftly arrived at the scene with a team and an investigation was started. Why the attack took place has not been confirmed yet.
According to The Observer Post, a Congress leader from the area, Asaf Ali Khan has stated that this is likely an attempt to create local tensions by the BJP and the BJD. The Biju Janata Dal is the regional ruling party, to which the state’s chief minister Naveen Patnaik belongs.
Meanwhile, a local resident described the events to The Observer Post, narrating how the bomb landed on the mosque’s courtyard with the words ‘sbp mafiya gang’ written on the box it was in, “The Sadar mosque is situated under the flyover. After the Maghrib prayer, the bomb was thrown at the mosque’s minaret from beneath the flyover. The bomb landed outside the mosque’s courtyard, enclosed in a box with the words ‘sbp mafiya gang’ inscribed on top.”
As per officials, two young Muslim boys got severe injuries in the incident, however a report by The Observer Post points towards three youth being injured.
The police have sealed off the area and are conducting rigorous checks at all entry and exit points within the city, according to Ommcom News. The police stated that the explosive device only caused minor injuries to two other people and caused some partial damage to the motorcycle. The police also stated, “Hand bombs were used in the explosion. Now, the situation is under control.”
Meanwhile, a huge number of hate crimes against Muslims have been reported from across the country. As we speak, countless reports have arrived of people being beaten, attacked amidst Holi celebrations. The video which shows the incident of a Muslim family being harassed amidst chants of Jai Sri Ram went viral in the past few days. Several mosques have been reported to have faced vandalism and defacement. Maharashtra faced two such incidents in different regions of the state. One was from Beed where ‘Jai Sri Ram’ was scribbled on the wall of a mosque. Another incident was from Mumbai’s Thane area, where a young Muslim rickshaw driver was dropping off his passengers and was surrounded by four to five people who entered his auto rickshaw and forcibly put colours on him. Videos from the site show colours splattered in the auto and the windshield cracked. The man stated that he told them he was fasting, but they did not listen and continued. A complaint has been filed by the victim, and investigation is reportedly underway, as per a report by News9 Live.
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