Communal clashes | SabrangIndia

MP: Communal flare up after 10-year-old Muslim boy allegedly turns up at garbha venue

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 05:45:59 +0000

Image Courtesy:thewire.in

Madhya Pradesh’s tourism department’s official slogan is “The Heart of Incredible India”, however the ‘heart’ may need investigation as it seems to be infected with communal polarisation. The communal hate, especially against Muslims has been at its peak in Madhya Pradesh this October. Navratri, a season where people come together and celebrate, was marked this year by right-wing groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) putting up posters outside Garba venues saying “entry of non-Hindus is prohibited”.

Now, it has come to light that the that curfew imposed in Sendhwa city of Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani district, was in fact after the communal clash erupted over the alleged presence of 10-year-old Muslim boy on October 13.

According to a follow up report in The Wire, Barwani Police said that “a dispute erupted when a Muslim boy was spotted at a garba venue in the Moti Bagh locality. This was objected by a Hindu teenager who had had a previous tiff with the Muslim boy’s family. Heated arguments turned into a brawl which got worse as adults got involved in the fight which saw stone pelting as well.” Deepak Shukla, Superintendent of Police, Barwani district said, the two “communities came face-to-face and pelted stones at each other, leaving a dozen people injured including women and children.”

It has also been alleged that “over 500 men of the majority Hindu community picketed the Sendhwa Police station demanding an FIR be lodged and arrests be made among Muslims. This mob manhandled a 14-year-old boy, his mother and two of his relatives who had gone to the police station to register a complaint after the minor child sustained a head injury during the stone pelting among two communities.” According to the news report, multiple FIRs have also been registered, one FIR was registered against three for pelting stones at a police convoy, under sections 143, 148, 149, 353, 307 and 327 of the IPC, and an arrest has been made. Two other FIRs were lodged against the Hindu and Muslim communities, under sections – 143, 148, 294, 323 and 506 of the IPC – 20 Muslims and 6 Hindus have been named in these two FIRs. According to the report, so far 22 people have been arrested.

Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), has written to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), over attacks on Muslims in Madhya Pradesh since August 2021. CJP’s prayer to the apex minority rights body is to conduct a full-fledged investigation into such incidents and also seek information about such attacks under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Madhya Pradesh has had a spurt of communal clashes and unrest, especially against the Muslim comunity in the past few weeks.

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Is Madhya Pradesh steadily turning into a communal hot bed?

Sat, 16 Oct 2021 08:41:53 +0000

Representation Image

Violent clashes broke out “between groups from different communities” at a garba event in Sendhwa in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday night. It escalated, and according to news reports, “Residents of Moti Baugh resorted to stone pelting around 8:30 P.M and the clashes went on till 12 A.M.” The Town Inspector of Sendhwa (City) Baldev Mujalda, told reporters that “an argument broke out between two groups” and some people in one of the “groups were drunk”. The police have arrested 15 persons, under various charged including “one for attempt to murder”.

According to Indian Express, Mujalda said that around seven policemen, including him, were injured in the stone pelting. Additional police force of around 70 personnel from seven police stations were deployed to bring the situation under control. The total number of injured persons is said to be around 16, and police have registered “cross FIRs from both the groups while the police filed a suo moto case of attempt to murder against eight unidentified persons and arrested one of them” reported IE adding that “14 others were arrested under Section 151 of CrPC for creating public nuisance.” Section 144 was imposed in the area, and will remain in effect till October 19.

Here are just a few incidents that were reported so far in October 2021:

Barwani: Muslims are forced to flee from Borlay village, which according to news reports is dominated by the Hindu Patidar community. It is now a communal hotbed after an old incident of elopement in April. Maktoobmedia reported that houses of Muslims were being attacked several times, following the April elopement of a man named Ameen Khan (21), a resident of Borlay village allegedly with a minor girl from Patidar community. The couple were caught and police booked the young man and three of his accomplices under sections of the Indian Penal Code including 363, 376, and other sections of the POCSO Act. The girl was sent home. However, according to the report, Muslims were targeted, allegedly by the Patidars. The harassment forced them to flee the village. According to the news report, “the boundary wall of the Muslim graveyard was demolished by unknown people. Locks were put on the mosque’s gate prohibiting namaz and azaan. The imam of mosque and his wife were shooed away” and “handcarts of Muslim vendors were also burnt by unknown people late in the night.”

The administration including the Sub Divisional Magistrate called members of both communities for a peace meeting on April 30 and reportedly “forced” the Muslims “to sign on paper in presence of police and SDM” reported Makrtoob. This reportedly prohibited Azaan using loudspeakers and told them “to recruit imam from another village to perform prayers.” According to Muslim leader Fakhruddin Khan quoted in the news report, “Entire Muslim community would be held accountable if any untoward incident (elopement, etc) took place in the village.” Five months have passed but the restrictions on Muslims continue forcing many to migrate.

Ratlam: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) put up posters outside Garba venues saying “entry of non-Hindus is prohibited” across 56 pandals. The VHP claimed that “non-Hindu men indulge in objectionable activities and thus their entry is being prohibited for Garba”.

Indore: Four youths were arrested for creating “public nuisance” after members of Bajrang Dal caught them outside a Garba organised by the city’s Oxford College on October 10.

Indore: A Muslim family of eight, including two women, now face an FIR accusing them of multiple crimes, even though it was they who were reportedly attacked by a mob of over 100 people chanting religious slogans. In the Pewday village, Kampel area of Indore city of Madhya Pradesh, this family of blacksmiths is said to be the only Muslim family in the village, and had moved to the area two years ago. The family has claimed to have been threatened before, but did not really pursue the matter due to poverty and lack of support.

Neemuch: A Dargah (Muslim shrine), named Hazrat Bheda Peer Dargah Sharif, was vandalised allegedly by around two dozen masked men belonging to a Hindutva group. The attackers used explosives, damaging the structure, and also injured its caretaker, Khadim Noor Shah. According to a media report, two devotees were also thrashed and robbed “on suspicion of religious conversion”. Neemuch Police, told the media that “unknown assailants tried to demolish the Bhedabhan shrine, situated in Jawad tehsil, using explosives, and also left a note behind alleging that the shrine was involved in converting Hindus to Islam.”

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Chhattisgarh: Curfew in Kawardha town following communal clashes

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 09:39:23 +0000

Image Courtesy:timesofindia.indiatimes.com

On Tuesday, a mob of nearly 3,000 people, reportedly led by Hindutva outfits, marched the streets of Kawardha town in Chhattisgarh’s Kabirdham district, wielding swords and lathis. The violent right-wing mob, one of the biggest reported in recent times, was allegedly attacking houses and vehicles of people from “another community” and pelting stones on police personnel, reported The Indian Express.

Social media showed that the ‘other community’ under attack were Muslims. The area remained tense for “more than 48 hours following an altercation” between the two groups over “religious flags being allegedly brought down on Sunday”.

This is from Kawardha, Chattisgarh. Mobs marching “peacefully” with lathis and rods, chanting “peaceful” slogans, “peacefully” vandaIize shops and vehicles of minorities. And then they peacefully broadcasted these videos on social media. https://t.co/BRUjizeEJm pic.twitter.com/ig5woQc6zH

— Alishan Jafri (@alishan_jafri) October 6, 2021

By Tuesday, curfew was imposed in Kawardha. Vivekanand Sinha, IG, told the media that police “arrested 59 people and are investigating further.” He further said, “We are seeing videos of the incident to identify the miscreants and action will be taken against them”.

Videos doing the rounds of social media show the Hindutva outfits, marching the streets of the town with swords and lathis, and allegedly attacking houses and vehicles belonging to Muslims. Adding to the crisis, are some social media handles that have a large number of followers, who are busy fanning communal flames in the state.

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Communal clashes in MP village, police detain 24

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 13:36:37 +0000

Image Courtesy:theindiaprint.com

Madhya Pradesh Police detained 24 people at Chandan Khedi village where clashes erupted after Hindutva groups shouted slogans in front of a mosque. According to news reports, around 200 people gathered and chanted the Hanuman Chalisa and shouted “Jai Shri Ram” slogans outside the mosque even as prayers were being offered inside. A heated exchange between Hindus and Muslims followed, and soon led to stone pelting, the police are reported to have said. According to news and social media reports, some members of the Hindutva group also waved saffron flags and climbed the mosque and tried to damage the minaret.

This happened in Chandankhedi, Indore, MP.

A Mosque was vandalized by a Hindutva mob, mob is shouting “Jai Sri Ram” slogans.

Via : @Scribbly_Scribe pic.twitter.com/tXjs9Fwfgk

— Md Asif Khan‏‎‎‎‎‎‎ (@imMAK02) December 29, 2020

Others have alleged that the Hindutva group members also tried to damage nearby houses and vehicles. Yogesh Deshmukh, Inspector General of Police, Indore, told Indian Express, “Twenty-four people, mostly from the village, have been rounded up based on video evidence. There will be more arrests on both sides and people who climbed atop the mosque will be identified and booked under relevant sections.”

According to the IE report, the latest clash at the Muslim-dominated village in Indore district took place when members of right-wing Hindu groups, took out a procession to collect “donations for construction of Ram Temple”, and then stopped in front of a mosque and chanted slogans on Tuesday. It was reported that police were trying to bring the situation under control till late at night.

As reported by the Indian Express, this unrest has happened just three days after similar clashes erupted in Ujjain’s Muslim-dominated Begum Bagh neighbourhood. There too a rally was taken out by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha that chanted slogans, which reportedly led to stone pelting.

The IE reported that in response to media’s questions on a demolition drive being carried out in Ujjain at the home of a Muslim resident, who was allegedly caught on camera pelting stones during the clashes, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said on Tuesday, “Jahan se pathar aaenge, wahin se toh nikale jaaenge (The direction from where the stones come, that decides the eviction).”

Meanwhile, police have booked eight more people, taking the total number of arrests in the Ujjain stone-pelting case to 15 so far. Five of them have been booked under National Security Act and 10 others have been booked for attempt to murder and rioting. According to news reports all the 15 arrested are residents of Begum Bagh. According to Superintendent of Police Satyendra Kumar Shukla said three or four people were seen pelting stones and they are in the process of being identified. “The house that was demolished by the revenue department was of an individual who had resorted to stone pelting,” he confirmed.

Madhya Pradesh Cabinet clears ‘Love Jihad’ law!

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