The tension simmering in the Biranpur village under Saja police station limits of Bemetara district in Chhattisgarh after a group of Muslim men attacked and killed a youth after a minor altercation between two school students and a youth from the other community near the village on April 8.
As per the reports, the bicycle of a couple of students returning from school had a collision with a youth near the village, following which the youth attacked the students with glass bottles, in which one of the students was gravely injured; it’s been reported that soon after learning about the incident clashes erupt between the groups in which around a dozen people got injured.
Speaking with the Organiser, one of the villagers claimed that after the scuffle between the students and the youth (who is suspected to be an outsider), a group of men armed with sharp weapons arrived at the village and started beating the villagers who were gathered to discuss the whole incident, in which at least 7-8 people got injured. “The mob took one of the youth with them and subsequently killed him by stabbing and beating”, he quoted further.
The deceased youth has been identified as Bhuvaneshvar Sahu, a resident of Biranpur village; Bhuvneshwar was in his early thirties and was the eldest son of his father; it was reported that the whole incident took place in the presence of police who in time was unable to control the violent mob. A few of the policemen, including a Sub Inspector who was trying to calm down the enraging mob, also sustained injuries, suggests a few media reports.
The news of the murder of the youth sparked massive outrage among the locals, following which a large number of people from the surrounding areas gathered near the village and protested against the killing.
We have arrested a number of identified accused involved in the violence, and others are being hunted; the villagers have been briefed and assured some youths have torched a police vehicle and also tried to set ablaze a few houses; currently, the situation is under control said, SP Kalyan Elesela, SP Bemetara.
It was reported that so far, the police have detained as many as 11 persons for the brutal killing of the youth while probationary orders under section 144 have been in place in the village to prevent any possible untoward incidents; as per the latest report, the local administration and the police are preparing for the last rites of the youth while a significant deployment of the police is still guarding the area.
It is being speculated that the root cause of the communal flare-up between the groups was another altercation between the two communities which took place around four months ago when a Muslim man in the area married a Hindu girl to which the Hindu community objected and called it an incident of Love Jihad.
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