Reign of Terror in BHAINSA

On March 7, when Hindus of Bhainsa were gearing up to celebrate a peaceful Mahashivratri, they were crudely disturbed by an onslaught by the Muslims. It left Hindus battered and bruised. This is a reminder of the fact that the administration was insensitive to their plight. In fact, it has turned a blind eye towards attacks on the majority community to please their political bosses.

The communal clash flared up after a road incident. According to the police, a minor road rage incident aggravated clashes between “the two groups”. It was a small bike accident. Within minutes, the argument heated up, which soon led to stone-pelting from both sides. The riot that started near the Zulfiqar mosque rapidly spread to other parts of the town.

More than 600 police officers were immediately deployed at Bhainsa. The police controlled the riots by late night with the imposition of Section 144 of the CrPC and by cutting off the  internet services. A couple of houses were damaged; more than ten vehicles, including auto-rickshaws, four-wheelers, and two-wheelers, were set ablaze. More than ten people were injured, including journalists and policemen. The injured were shifted to local hospitals and those who were severely injured were taken to Nizamabad and Hyderabad. The majority of the damage was inflicted on the Hindu community. However, this is not the first time that the Hindu community has faced such extremism from the “minority” community in Bhainsa. It almost coincides with the Mahashivratri. This is not the first attack on Hindus during major festivals.

The town, which borders Maharashtra, is an extremely communally sensitive area in the State. In the last three decades, the region has seen a series of communal riots. The first event can be traced back to 1984 during the Holi celebrations. While one community was celebrating the festival, the other objected, leading to a communal clash. The second incident was in 1989 in which the two communities clashed during the Ganesh immersion celebrations.

In the recent past, the first major incident happened in 2008. It was the time of the Durga Devi immersion celebration; Hindus were taking out a procession. As they passed from a lane near the Panjesha mosque, some people came out of the mosque and objected. However, the argument soon turned into a riot that shook the entire state. As the argument grew, stone pelting started from both sides. Hundreds of shops and houses were burnt and damaged. More than 30 vehicles were put on fire, and several were injured. The police had to fire shots to control the situation, which took the lives of three people. Once again, majority of the damage was inflicted on the Hindu community. Hundreds of them left without shelter and food. Locals blamed the police for not taking preventive measures to minimise chances of such an onslaught even when tensions were rising in Bhainsa ever since Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations were held.

As the trend indicates, riots in Bhainsa began when the Muslims objected to the Hindus taking processions of their deities near a mosque. Post 2008 incident, the police and authorities took several steps to diffuse tensions during the festivals and religious gatherings. The town did not see any major incident until last year when in January 2020, another riot refreshed memories of the 2008 riots. This time again, it was the week of Hindu festivals, Sankranti and Pongal. As per the locals, it was the last day of a three day Ijtema (Muslim religious congregation) which the Tablighi Jamaat organised. After the event, Muslim youth took to the streets on bikes without silencers. The bikers were objected for their rash driving. However, they responded with abuses. The residents of that area, especially elders, admonished the youth. The Muslim youth left and returned with a mob of around 400-500 people at around 9 p.m. The mob put vehicles on fire and started pelting stones on the houses of the Hindus. They also cut the fire engines’ water pipes. Close to 18 houses belonging to members of the Hindu community were burnt and their properties were looted. Despite the imposition of Section 144 of CrPC on January 12, members of both communities clashed again the next day, further damaging houses and vehicles. On charges of spreading religious hatred, Telangana police arrested a Hyderabad-based journalist who had covered the story of the riots and attacks on Hindus.

Being a communally sensitive region, any small spike in the region can lead to riots. The problem is aggravated by lack of education and gullibility among the youth. According to locals, despite several developments in the region and the area being a major trading centre, the communal gap is usually visible. There is a very strong ‘Vaalu-Menu’ (Them-Us) sentiment that prevails in the town. This is another reason why political parties are willing to respond to the incident immediately. However, in the last few incidents, the Telangana police have not permitted BJP leaders to visit the spot.

Back in January 2020, when Raja Singh, MLA of BJP in Telangana, announced that he would visit the affected Hindu families in Bhainsa, the police was quick to respond. The Telangana police immediately put him under detention at his residence. The TRS and AIMIM leaders were however, allowed to visit the spot. The police responded in a similar manner after the incident on Sunday evening when BJP MP from Nizamabad, Arvind Dharmapuri, decided to travel to Bhainsa to meet the victims and their families, he was put under house arrest. The MP was chased down by the Telangana Police in Hyderabad itself and stopped mid-road. The police officials could not provide any written orders for the detention but were adamant to send him back because of “preventive arrest”.

While speaking to the media, BJP leader Arvind Dharmapuri said the Telangana Police is working under pressure from the TRS Government, which AIMIM leaders are controlling. He further added that local AIMIM leaders are responsible for the repeated attacks on Hindus in the region. He alleged that Mohammad Jabir Ahmed is an influential person and his family has been occupying chairman seat of the Bhainsa municipality for many decades. Jabir, the current Deputy Chairperson of the municipality, is involved in land grabbing and has mainly captured lands belonging to Hindus. In the press conference, Arvind revealed names of the culprits.

Along with Jabir Ahmed, he also identified Qasim Baig, Faizulla Khan and Bokar Majid. While Khan is a ward councillor from the AIMIM party, the other two have been ‘expelled’ by the police from their areas. He also said that these people are supported by Municipality Chairman, Sabhiya Begum and District Collector Musharraf Faruqui. He alleged that these people capture the endowment lands (temple lands) and give them to the Muslims for free. When Hindus objected and tried to spread the news via social media, communal violence began. The Hindus were identified and targeted.

After Arvind, various Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal leaders tried to visit Bhainsa to assess the situation, but failed. The police is adamant in not letting the local Hindus get any support. The police even stopped BJP MP from Adilabad, Soyam Bapu Rao, to visit Bhainsa, which lies in his constituency. He was detained near Balkonda. One respondent blamed Home Minister of Telangana, Mahmood Ali, for such actions of the police.

Meanwhile, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kishan Reddy, condemned the violence and said that the attack on journalists and police officers was unfortunate. He further added that he spoke to the Director-General of Police, Mahender Reddy and asked him to arrest the culprits at the earliest. He also spoke to the Adilabad MP and enquired about the situation. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to his MoS to inquire about the situation in Bhainsa.

BJP President, Telangana, Bandi Sanjay, said that TRS Government’s appeasement approach and inaction of the Telangana police was responsible for the frequent clashes in the region. He questioned the Chief Minister, K Chandrashekar Rao, for not visiting Bhainsa. He further added that the police is torturing the Hindu youth in the region. The police operates under the influence of AIMIM leaders. Rather than arresting the real culprits, police detains the Hindu youth and keep torturing them. He recalled earlier various events where the AIMIM goons attacked the Hindus. On Sankranti celebrations AIMIM goons urinated in Sakenalu, the special food that was prepared for the celebrations. The Hindus of the region kept asking for help but the government and the authorities did not respond. He went on to say that even when all property and vehicles that were damaged and burnt belonged to the Hindus, the police file cases on the same community despite knowing the reality. He said that BJP is ready to fight with such authorities, and the government that is clearly not for the people.

The police booked around 100 people (50 Muslims and 50 Hindus) on the night of the violence. All BJP leaders have been stopped from reaching Bhainsa, and the Chief Minister of the State remains silent.