News Analysis India

Tag: Ram Navami

  • MP: Khargone administration changes decision, relaxes curfew for 9 hours on Monday

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: The Khargone administration has changed its previous decision and announced a relaxation in curfew for nine hours on Monday in the Madhya Pradesh city, where violence was reported during a Ram Navami procession on April 10, officials said.

    Earlier, the administration had announced a 24-hour curfew on May 2 and 3 and asked Khargone residents to celebrate the Eid-al-Fitr and Akshaya Tritiya festivals at home.

    But, Indore’s Divisional Commissioner Pawan Sharma and Inspector General of Police Rakesh Gupta reached Khargone on Sunday night and held a meeting with officials, following which the decision was changed.

    The curfew in the city has been relaxed for nine hours – from 8 am to 5 pm – on Monday, Special Armed Force Commandant Ankit Jaiswal, posted temporarily in Khargone, told reporters late Sunday night.

    Additional forces have been deployed to beef up security in Khargone, the IPS officer said. The decision about 24-hour curfew on Tuesday is being reviewed in consultation with people, he said.

    Eid-al-Fitr, which marks the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan, will be celebrated in the country on Tuesday as the moon was not sighted on Sunday evening.

    The festival of Akshaya Tritiya, considered auspicious for beginning new ventures, marriages and expensive investments such as in gold, will also be celebrated on May 3.

    Curfew was clamped in Khargone after the violence on April 10, during which shops and houses were damaged, vehicles torched and stones hurled.

    Since April 14, the local administration has been relaxing the curfew for some hours. As per the district administration’s order, the curfew relaxation will not be applicable to petrol pumps and for the sale of kerosene from Public Distribution System (PDS) shops.

    During the curfew relaxation period, shops selling milk, vegetables, medicines, and barber’s shops among others, are allowed to remain open, but religious places have been asked to remain closed. Passenger buses will be allowed to ply during curfew relaxation, the order said.

  • MP: Cops arrest man for supplying pistol used for firing at SP during Khargone riots; six others held 

    By PTI

    KHARGONE: Police have arrested a man for supplying a pistol to a person, who used it for firing at Superintendent of Police (SP) Siddharth Choudhary during the violence on Ram Navami in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone, an official said on Saturday.

    Six other persons involved in making weapons were arrested along with him and a total of 17 pistols were recovered from them, he said.

    Communal clashes had broken out in Khargone city on April 10 during a Ram Navami procession, which triggered arson and stone-pelting, leading to the clamping of curfew.

    Among the injured was Choudhary, who was hit by a bullet in his leg.

    Police have already arrested a man, identified as Mohsin aka Waseem, for the firing incident.

    “Toofan Singh Sikligar, who supplied arms to Mohsin accused of firing at Khargone SP, was arrested. Based on the information given by him during his interrogation, six others involved in supplying arms were also arrested. Seventeen pistols were recovered from them and six factories were busted,” IPS officer Ankit Jaiswal, who has been temporarily posted to the district, said.

    These accused were involved in supplying illegal arms in different states, he told reporters on Friday night and added that police were interrogating them to know about their network.

    Meanwhile, curfew was relaxed for nine hours – from 8 am to 5 pm – on Saturday, he said.

    Curfew was clamped in the city after the violence.

    But since April 14, the local administration has been relaxing the curfew for some hours everyday.

    As per the district administration’s order, the curfew relaxation will not be applicable to petrol pumps and for the sale of kerosene from Public Distribution System (PDS) shops.

    During the curfew relaxation period, shops selling milk, vegetables, medicines, and barber’s shops among others, are allowed to remain open, but religious places have been asked to be kept shut.

  • Ram Navami violence: NSA invoked against two persons in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone

    By PTI

    BHOPAL/ KHARGONE: The local administration has invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against two persons allegedly involved in the violence that erupted during a Ram Navami procession in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone city, an official said on Tuesday.

    Khargone SP Rohit Kashwani said that the NSA was invoked against Nawaz, a resident of Talab Chowk area and Mohsin alias Nati, resident of Jakaria Masjid area, for alleged involvement in the April 10 violence, in-charge.

    He said that as many as 153 persons have been arrested and 65 First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in connection with the violence. Kashwani urged people to help police identify the culprits. Stone-pelting took place during a Ram Navami procession in the city on April 10, leading to clashes and arson.

    Among the injured was former SP Siddharth Choudhary who was hit by a bullet.

    Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Addl Chief Secretary (Home) Rajesh Rajora and Addl DGP (STF)Vipin Maheshwari visited Khargone on Tuesday and held meetings with members of both the Hindu and Muslim communities.

    They also inspected riot-hit areas including Aurangpura, Talab Chowk, Sanjay Nagar, Mohan Talkies, Bhatwadi, Sarafa Bazaar and met the those affected by the violence. The victims will get help and action will be taken against the rioters, the officials assured.

    The Madhya Pradesh government has announced aid of Rs one crore for providing relief to the people affected by the violence. The Khargone administration on Tuesday relaxed the curfew in the city from 8 am to 12 noon and from 3 pm to 5 pm. “The administration had conducted a survey and sent a report to the state government which has allotted Rs one crore for relief,” said district collector Anugraha P.

    Based on this survey, financial assistance will be provided immediately to the affected people and vendors whose houses, shops and vehicles were damaged in the violence, the collector said. Only the stores selling milk, vegetables and medicines were allowed to remain open during the relaxation of curfew.

    A government order said that people can purchase essential items from the shops in their neighbourhood. Petrol pumps will remain closed and the sale of kerosene will remain suspended at fair price shops, it added.

  • Ram Navami violence: Maharashtra cops collecting details of incidents; at least 20 cases registered

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra police have started collecting details of untoward incidents that took place during Ram Navami, which was celebrated across the state on April 10, and are taking action accordingly, a senior official said on Tuesday.

    At least 20 cases were registered statewide in connection to Ram Navami incidents, he said. He said that police had issued instructions to people to celebrate the occasion by following noise pollution norms and ensuring communal amity, adding that the untoward incidents include those connected to noise pollution and flouting of time limits.

    “At 30 places, Hanuman Chalisa recitation was organised, and at least five offences have been registered against individuals and mobs in connection with them,” he added.

  • Will Ram Navami processions be taken out in Pakistan, asks Union minister Giriraj Singh

    By PTI

    KATIHAR (Bihar): Union minister Giriraj Singh has alleged that the recent attacks on Ram Navami processions at a number of places across the country flew in the face of the “claims of Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb” (composite culture of India).

    The firebrand BJP leader said the country did not object to the construction of new mosques post-Independence and “multifold rise in the population of Muslims” in the country despite large-scale demolition of temples in Pakistan where Hindus faced near-extinction, and warned that “now, patience is running out”.

    Singh made the provocative remarks while talking to reporters in this north Bihar district late Monday night.

    He was venting his spleen over remarks of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and “secular politicians with Jinnah’s DNA” that Hindus should avoid venturing into Muslim-dominated localities to avoid communal flare-ups while taking out religious processions.

    “Where will Ram Navami processions taken out if not in this country? In Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan? Had processions of any other faith been attacked leaders like Rahul Gandhi and the ailing (RJD president) Lalu Prasad would have hit the streets for their political tourism,” said the Union minister who remains in news for his acerbic utterances.

    Singh, the MP from Bihar’s Begusarai, expressed outrage over incidents like attacks on police officials at Hubli in Karnataka and at Jahangirpuri in Delhi which have witnessed communal violence recently.

    He said he was aghast at the incident in Gorakhpur where an IIT graduate charged into the Gorakhdham peeth, a religious institution headed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and attacked security personnel before getting arrested and booked under the UAPA.

    “The country was partitioned in 1947. We must not commit the same mistake again by talking in terms of Hindu-dominated or Muslim-dominated areas. Don’t Hindus heartily take part in Tazia processions during Muharram,” Singh asked.

  • Madhya Pradesh: Jailed trio booked for arson during Navami clash

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL:  In a major goof-up, the Madhya Pradesh Police has booked three men in connection with rioting in Sendhwa town of Barwani district on April 10 even as they have been in jail for over a month after their arrest in a case of attempt to murder.

    The trio — Shahbaz, Rauf and Faqhru — were booked on April 11 for setting a motorcycle and scooter ablaze near a mosque in Sendhwa on the day communal violence erupted in the town following an attack on the Ram Navami procession. They were booked under IPC Section 435 (Mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to an amount of Rs 100 or upwards).

    Shahbaz’s mother Saqeena Bi spoke told this newspaper, “How can my son, who has already been in jail for a month, come out and set a motorbike ablaze? We told police that, but they didn’t listen to us. They even picked up Shahbaz’s cousin Golu two days back for communal violence and haven’t released him despite our pleas that he was in no way involved in any crime. Our house too has been partially demolished by the authorities, without serving us any prior notice of it being illegal.”

    The three men are already accused in multiple crime cases. While Shahbaz was accused in five cases, including murder and kidnapping in Sendhwa and adjoining Maharashtra, Faqhru and Rauf are accused in two and four criminal cases, respectively.

    Meanwhile, curfew was relaxed for two hours each on Friday morning and evening — from 10 am to 12 noon and  from 3 pm to 5 pm — in Khargone as the situation was normal, officials said.

    Special team to trace missing womanA woman has gone missing amid the Ram Navami violence that took place in Khargone in MP on April 10, with a top police official stating on Friday that a special team had been formed to trace her. She had gone in search of her children who were in the vicinity of the procession, soon after word trickled in of the event being marred by stone-pelting and arson, her relatives said.

  • Ram Navami violence in Khambhat was a pre-planned conspiracy, say Gujarat police

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD: Gujarat police have said that the communal violence that broke out in Khambat during the procession on Ram Navami on April 10 was a pre-planned conspiracy.

    According to police, the conspiracy was hatched by three clerics and two others. Early inquiries suggest that they lured the youths from outside the state with money and other assistance to indulge in stone-pelting. It was decided to pelt stones from cemeteries as stones could be easily found there. The youths were promised legal support if they were caught by the authorities. The clerics, Mustakim Maulvi, Matin and Mauhmud who are brothers, were detained following the violence in Khambhat. Complaints were also lodged against a mob of more than 100 people after which they were interrogated.

    Superintendent of police (SP) Ajit Rajiyan of Anand district told the media, “As part of a pre-planned conspiracy, stones were hurled during the Ram Navami procession in Khambhat. The motive of the accused was that once the Ram Navami procession was stoned and threatened, no such religious procession would take place in the future. The accused had started planning for the procession after news broke that the Ram Navmi procession was about to start and the entire conspiracy was hatched in the last three days after the procession got police permission. Razzaq Hussain Maulvi, Majud, Jamshed Khan Pathan, Mastakim Maulvi, Mahmud Saeed and Matin Younis Vora have been detained and an SIT has been formed at district level to further investigate the incident.”

    During the police investigation, deleted chats, as well as call recordings from the mobile phones of the arrested accused, were found, which directly indicates that there was an attempt by the accused to conceal the evidence. The recovered data, as well as inquiries, revealed that the conspiracy was hatched after watching provocative videos and messages circulating on social media for a long time.

    According to the information received, the entire conspiracy was hatched by these people on Saturday, the day before Ram Navami. Men were called from outside Khambhat for this conspiracy. However, one by one these people are being identified. They have been charged with inciting hostility, murder and attempted murder. The police investigation has revealed who was involved in the conspiracy and what tasks were assigned to them.

    The stones were already collected to carry out the conspiracy. In Khambhat, first a stone was thrown and then they set fire to shops. The clerics are also being questioned as to who was helping these people with money in this case, said police.

    “These people were in touch with people from outside the district and abroad for the funds to carry out the conspiracy. The responsibility of raising funds was handed over to Matin. An investigation is currently underway into who helped from outsidethe state and the country for the funds,” said the Anand SP.

    After the stone-pelting during the Ram Navami procession on April 10 in Khambat, a sensitive taluka of Anand district, tensions were high across the city as some rioters set fire to two shops and a house in different parts of the city. Following the incident, a convoy including the district police chief reached the spot and fired five tear gas shells to control the mob. More than 15 people were injured in the incident, including a police convoy, while one was killed.

  • JNU clash: Education ministry seeks report from varsity, students’ union demands judicial probe

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Union education ministry on Tuesday sought a report from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) regarding violence on its campus on Ram Navami, even as the varsity’s students’ union demanded an independent judicial inquiry into the matter.

    Two student groups clashed at the university’s Kaveri Hostel on Sunday allegedly over serving of non-vegetarian food in its mess of the festive day, with police saying 20 students were injured.

    Former JNU vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, who is currently the chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), said that violence of any kind on university campuses should be avoided.

    The groups have lodged police complaints against each other, while JNU authorities claimed the violence occurred after some students objected to a ‘hawan’, an assertion also made by RSS-affiliate Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

    However, the JNU Students Union (JNUSU), which is led by Left-affiliated outfits, has alleged that ABVP members attacked students while opposing the serving of non-vegetarian food in the mess.

    Police will be recording the statements of the victims once the situation calms down, a senior officer said.

    Student bodies protested outside the Jamia Millia Islamia against what transpired at JNU and to demand that food choices cannot be imposed on people in the name of Ram Navami.

    “Not only in JNU but there was violence on Ram Navami in states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. You cannot dictate what people should eat and impose your food choices on them,” said a protester.

    At JNU, its student’s union led a delegation to meet the university’s vice-chancellor Shantishree Dhulipudi Pandit to put forth its demands but could not meet her.

    Security officials have asked it to put in a formal request for an appointment with the vice-chancellor.

    The delegation demanded that the university withdraw its statement issued on April 11 (Monday) in which it said that the clash broke out on Sunday after some students objected to a ‘hawan’ conducted “peacefully” on the occasion of Ram Navami.

    Claiming that the violence at the Kaveri Hostel has its beginnings in the arbitrary demand of prohibition of non-vegetarian meals at the hostel mess by a group of students, the delegation said that it has been corroborated by the relevant hostel committee and mess committee members.

    “However, the same students who raised this demand and violently disrupted the functioning of the mess, who are also associated with the ABVP, have resorted to spreading a narrative of disruption of havan in the hostel premises, a claim that is neither supported by the hostel or mess committee,” read a statement by the JNUSU.

    It said that “it is extremely shameful” that the press statement released by the JNU administration on Monday endorsed the version of the ABVP “without the conduct of any official enquiry”.

    “Such partisan support of a single narrative is becoming of a university administration and therefore, we demand that the the press statement released by the JNU administration on April 11 be rescinded forthwith,” the statement said.

    The students’ body demanded that the JNU administration take swift action on the issue and take view of the matter in a free and fair manner.

    “However, it is with extreme regret that we must note that the actions of the JNU administration have either fallen short of the expectations of the student community or been partisan in nature,” it said.

    Noting that there are justified doubts regarding the competency of an internal enquiry in the matter, they demand that the JNU administration either pursue for the conduct of an judicial inquiry into the matter or constitute a committee with a serving or retired judge of the high court as the chair for investigation.

    “The committee should give a call to collect all testimonies and evidence, meet with the aggrieved parties, and release the report and recommendations to the public in a time-bound manner.

    It has been increasingly observed that the prevalence of politically motivated violence in the campus is becoming a norm rather than the exception,” the JNUSU said.

    Meanwhile, Afzal Ahmed, a meat vendor, who has been supplying meat to the university’s hostels’ mess for the last 25-30 years claimed that he had received a call on Sunday morning asking him not to supply meat to the Kaveri Hostel on the occasion of Ram Navami.

    Ahmed said, “On the morning of April 10, I got a call from some JNU students asking me not to supply meat to the Kaveri Hostel. I told them that I had received the order on April 9.” “But they threatened me saying if I supplied meat to the hostel, they would ensure that I am not able to supply meat to other JNU hostels. I told them I will come down and speak to them,” he told PTI.

  • JNU violence: AISA-affiliated students protest near Delhi Police headquarters

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Scores of JNU students affiliated to the All India Students Association staged a protest near Delhi Police headquarters here on Monday and demanded the arrest of ABVP activists for their alleged role in the violence at the university.

    Two groups had clashed at the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Kaveri Hostel here on Sunday allegedly over serving of non-vegetarian food in the mess on Ram Navami, with the police saying they have received 20 Medicolegal cases of students who were injured in the incident.

    Members of other left-affiliated student bodies also accused the ABVP of inflicting violence and imposing their food choices on students.

    AISA activists at the protest site alleged that some students were detained and taken to the Tughlaq Road police station.

    A senior police officer also denied allegations of any type of manhandling by the personnel during the protest.

    “We have detained them because they were trying to protest near the police headquarters. They were detained before they could reach the spot and taken to Tughlaq Road police station. Another group of protesters who came later have also been detained and taken to Madhir Marg police station. Around 30 students have been detained so far and would be released later,” the officer added.

    AISA president Sai Balaji said, “Our protest is going to continue. People who attacked the students are repeat offenders and so is the JNU administration.

    “Protest at PHQ (police headquarters) was to ensure accountability of the Delhi Police and ensure that justice happens. There will be more protests today. Women protesters were manhandled and their clothes were pulled by male security personnel. Several protesters have also got injured. We have been detained inside the Tughlaq Road Police Station,” AISA activist Neha said.

    The Delhi Police on Monday registered an FIR against unknown ABVP students based on the complaint received from a group of students in connection with a clash in JNU.

    Meanwhile, at a press conference outside the university, Anagha Pradeep, JNUSU councillor, said, “In this university, the ABVP and the RSS orchestrated a big incident again and unleashed violence in the name of food. All the 16 hostels in JNU serve both non-vegetarian and vegetarian food.”

    Recalling the sequence of events on Sunday, she said when the vendor came to supply meat to Kaveri Hostel, the ABVP activists tried to attack him and heckle him.

    “He was told that that he won’t be spared and asked to leave the campus. They said non-vegetarian food will not be prepared here. The mess committee members, who were present there, were also attacked and heckled,” she alleged.

    After that, students went to the warden to ask him to ensure that Kaveri Hostel residents are provided food since sufficient amount had not been prepared owing to the diktat on non-vegetarian food.

    While students were talking to the warden, ABVP activists arrived there and attacked several students, she alleged. “Water coolers were thrown at the students. Guards and the warden were not doing anything. Phones of some of the students, who were making videos, were snatched and broken by the ABVP members.”

    “As soon as we stepped out of the mess, they started hurling stones. They used wipers, flower pots and whatever they could lay their hands on. Many students sustained injuries. They are spreading lies that we thrashed them. Nothing of that sort happened. We have evidences to prove their claims wrong,” Pradeep said.

    All this happened in front of Delhi Police and yet there have been no arrests in the matter, she said.

    Apeksha, another student councillor, said, it is a known fact that every Sunday, non-vegetarian food is prepared in every hostel.

    Barring Kaveri Hostel, non-vegetarian food was prepared in every other hostel of JNU on Sunday, Apeksha said.

    “Nobody in the hostels had any issues but the ABVP activists said they are organising a puja on the occasion of Ram Navami and won’t allow meat to be served.

    “Initially, the ABVP members kicked and punched the students and also hurled sexist abuses and rape threats. Two guards were also seriously injured. One of the guards was hit with a tubelight,” she said.

    Apeksha said she called the police to inform them about the violence. “The police said they were on the other side of the gate but didn’t stop the violence. From 4 pm, students had been continuously calling the police to inform them about the situation but there was no response,” she added.

    The police, however, denied the allegations. A senior police officer saying the first call was received at around 8.15 pm following which the teams rushed to the spot. “The situation was brought under control after the police teams arrived,” he said.

    Apeksha also alleged that ABVP activists hurled “sexual abuses” at women in front of police.

    “When we stepped out of Kaveri Hostel, at least four police vans were stationed and ight to 10 personnel were standing.

    The attackers came and hurled sexual abuses at us and also threatened us but the police did nothing ,” she said.

    She said after left-affiliated bodies took out a march and urged the police to take action on complaints filed against ABVP since 2019, assurance was given they will be investigated.

    “There are at least 15 to 20 members of ABVP who are repeat offenders,” Apeksha said, alleging that in such cases, neither the university administration takes any action nor the police.

  • Gujarat: 9 held for violence on Ram Navami in Khambat, Section 144 imposed in Himmatnagar 

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Police have arrested nine people for their alleged involvement in violence and stone-pelting during a procession on Ram Navami at Khambat in Gujarat’s Anand district, while CrPC Section 144 has been imposed in Himmatnagar town of Sabarkantha following a similar incident there, officials said on Monday.

    Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi called a meeting of top police officials in Gandhinagar late Sunday night over these incidents and gave necessary orders, they said.

    One person was killed in the clashes in Khambhat town on Sunday.

    Nine people allegedly involved in the violence and stone-pelting have been arrested so far, according to Anand’s Superintendent of Police Ajit Rajian.

    “The situation in Khambhat town is under control. We have already arrested nine suspects and started further investigation,” he said.

    As per police sources, those arrested include some local maulvis (priests).

    In similar violence in Himmatnagar town of Sabarkantha district, stone pelting and clashes were reported between two communities on the occasion of Ram Navami on Sunday.

    Sabarkantha Collector Hitesh Koya in an order issued on Sunday evening imposed Section 144 of CrPC, which prohibits gathering of more than five people, in some sensitive areas of the town, including Chhaparia area where arson took place.

    The prohibitory orders will remain in force till April 13.

    Personnel of the Rapid Action Force, local police and the State Reserve Police conducted a march in Chhaparia area.