An incident of theft led to communal tensions in Chhatisgrah’s Bhilai city. The administration had to deploy police at every post and point so that what happened on July 4 does not happen again.
On July 4, some Hindus lodged an FIR against Muslims alleging mobile theft at the Cantonment Police Station. Soon after the complaint was lodged, the local Islamists reached the Sharda Para Chowk in Sant Ravidas Nagar and began vandalising the Hanuman Mandir.
The police however rejected the communal angle saying it was a minor personal dispute and nothing more than that.
The local Hindi reports however suggest something else.
As per the residents, the dispute erupted late on July 4 when local Islamists pelted stones and burnt flags placed in the Hanuman Mandir located in the Sharda Para Chowk in Sant Ravidas Nagar in Bhilai’s Power House Camp-2 area. The attackers were well equipped with stones and vandalising material.
Notably, the Islamists were raged over the complaint of theft lodged against them,
Reports claim that following the attack, over 200 people, including villagers and local Hindu activists, gathered at the Sant Ravidas Nagar police station. The activists called for prompt and strict action against the culprits. Hindus claimed that this was not the first time their place of worship had been vandalised by Islamists, it has become a ritual.
Seeing Hindus outnumbering them the Islamists fled the spot. After this, the Hindu activists reached the Cantonment Police Station and sat on a dharna. All they wanted was the arrest of the culprits who are repeated offenders.
The protest continued till about 12 at midnight. The Hindus only disbursed after the police assured prompt action in the case.
Durg Superintendent of Police Salabh Sinha also reached the spot amid the overnight ruckus. After this, he instructed the policemen to take appropriate action against the culprits. In order to to take the situation under control, the vandalism in the temple premises was immediately rectified, along with the broken grill was also welded immediately at night.
Videos of the said attack went viral on social media. As per a local YouTube channel, Bhilai Times, the locals shred their ordeal. They shared the case about how tensions gripped the town after a Hindu decided to register a complaint against Islamists.
She added, when the Hindu family returned after reporting the incident of theft to the local police, 10 to 12 miscreants vandalised the complaints house and vehicle. Thereafter, they went to the Hanuman Mandir and pelted stones there, she said.
Another woman standing in the crowd shared how such incidents were common in their area. “These youths not only carry out thefts and petty crimes but often harass our daughters, they are making it difficult for us to move around in the area”, she said.
The woman did not take the names of the culprits but said, all of them belonged to the Muslim community.
When asked what action did the police take in the matter, another woman said that the police has assured to take action. This was said only after the Hindus reached the police station and protested against the incident. Sharing details of the police inaction the woman said, following the protests by the Hindus, the police detained as many as two people but soon released them free.
“They detain the criminals, but nothing is done to punish them. They are in fact, released in no time, emboldening them to commit atrocities on us fearlessly,” another Hindu said.
Durg Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Dhruv, meanwhile, said that two people each from both factions were arrested. He said that the matter pertains to a personal conflict between members of the two communities. The ASP added that the police are conducting flag marches in the area and the situation in under control.
The officer can be heard saying, “This was not a communal matter but the temple was attacked. Both Hindus and Muslims were involved in the vandalising activities. The police will take action against miscreants from both the communities who are trying to spill venom in the town’s peace.”
After taking control of the situation the police did a flag march in the local area with as many as 250 officials.
