Jharkhand: Tension erupts after Durga idol immersion procession halted at separate places in Garhwa

RANCHI: Tension erupts during idol immersion processions at separate places in Garhwa district of Jharkhand, resulting in delay in the process and incident of stone pelting on Saturday, October 12 and Sunday.

The first incident took place on Saturday when an idol immersion procession was allegedly halted by people of the Muslim community in Lakhana village under Sadar block, leading to a strife between the two community.

The confrontation between the two groups occurred after one of the group halted the procession, objecting that the route taken for immersion is new and not the usual one through which the immersion procession passed annually. This led to a strife between the two groups, who soon got indulged in stone pelting exercise, injuring at least three people who were later shifted to health care facilities.

Following the initial skirmish, the administration along with members of both the communities tried finding an amicable solution. It was eventually decided that both the community will restrain from taking out any religious procession from each other’s locality. An agreement regarding the same was also signed by senior members from both the communities after which the immersion procession was subsequently re-routed from another route in wee hours of Sunday.

The incident also attracted reactions from political leaders including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president of Jharkhand unit Babu Lal Marandi, who while requesting the the Director General of Police (DGP) Jharkhand to take cognizance of the case alleged that an idol immersion procession was halted at a village in Garhwa and instead of taking action against those who are spreading religious frenzy, the police is mere doing requests to those who have halted the procession.

गढ़वा में एक गांव में मुस्लिम समुदाय के लोगों ने माँ दुर्गा की प्रतिमा का विसर्जन पिछले 6-7 घंटों से रोक रखा है। पुलिस, विसर्जन रोककर धार्मिक उन्माद फैलाने वाले लोगों पर कारवाई करने की बजाय सिर्फ चिरौरी कर रही है।@jharkhandpolice के डीजीपी तुरंत संज्ञान लेकर विसर्जन रोकने वाले… pic.twitter.com/bHEzORNk3z

— Babulal Marandi (@yourBabulal) October 12, 2024

Learning about the incident, Satyendra Nath Tiwari, former MLA of the area also reached the spot and tried calming the atmosphere. The BJP leader later alleged that the incumbent government is doing politics of appeasement and humiliating the majority community who have been stopped to carry out idol immersion procession at many places.

गढ़वा में झारखंड सरकार और मिथिलेश ठाकुर के इशारे पर लखना गांव में मूर्ति विसर्जन करने से रोका गया।
महागठबंधन की सरकार लगातार हिंदू भावनाओं का अपमान कर रही है।@yourBabulal @bjpkarmveer@ChouhanShivraj @himantabiswa@LKBajpaiBJP @BJPNagendraJi@amarbaurihttps://t.co/f3U8UhuBwX

— Satyendra Nath Tiwari (मोदी जी का परिवार) (@sntiwarimla) October 13, 2024

The administration on the other hand has emphasised that the issue occurred due to influence of outsiders and the locals after realising it themselves reached to an agreement regarding the same.

Stone pelting in Madagadi village

Meanwhile in another incident from Garhwa itself, an agitated mob pelted stone on police after the latter disallow a procession to be carried out from a particular route in Madagadi area under Bhandariya police station limits on Sunday.

According to the details, the route has been used by the residents for idol immersion procession for years, however the administration has disallowed the same by terming it sensitive this year. According to the police, the decision was taken as a precautionary measure, given a scuffle occurred over the said route last year.

However, the decision of the administration does not boded well and angered the local Hindu community who wanted to take the procession from the said route, leading to a confrontation between the administration and the residents on Sunday, October 13.

According to the reports, the Hindu community tried carrying the idol immersion procession from the said route on Sunday, only to be halted by the administration who had already installed barricades anticipating any such moves, this led to a strife between the locals and the administration resulting in stone pelting by the mob and the counter-measures adopted by the authorities.

गढ़वा हिंसा : हालात पर काबू पाने के लिए पुलिस ने की फायरिंग@dc_garhwa @GarhwaPolice pic.twitter.com/xRHbxwL4nf

— Zee Bihar Jharkhand (@ZeeBiharNews) October 13, 2024

The police tried to disperse the agitated mob by first firing tear-gas shells along baton charge and eventually by firing shots in the air reportedly to control the situation. A few of the policemen have also sustained injuries in the stone pelting.

The situation remains to be tensed and heavy deployment of security personnel are made in the area, further the administration has also issued prohibitory orders under section 163 of BNSS to prevent any escalation of the matter, the situation is being monitored by the authorities.