Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, witnessed a violent incident during a Durga murti visarjan procession on, October 16, 2024, when a group of Islamic extremists attacked Hindus. Two young men were stabbed during the attack, with one of them suffering serious injuries. The police have arrested a man named Angoor Alam in connection with the incident, which they have attributed to personal enmity.
According to media reports, the incident took place in the Majhauli Raj area under the Salempur Kotwali jurisdiction. The Hindu procession, celebrating Durga Visarjan, was on its way to the banks of the Gandak River, with a large number of youths participating. As the procession reached Shahi Chowk in Majhauli Raj, tensions escalated when a group of Muslim youths infiltrated the crowd. A confrontation soon followed.
Eyewitnesses stated that the Muslim youths began to provoke the Hindus, leading to a heated dispute. The situation quickly turned violent when the infiltrators resorted to physical assault. Nineteen-year-old Rajan Patel was stabbed during the scuffle, leaving him seriously injured. Jitesh Singh, another participant who rushed to help Rajan, was also stabbed in the attack.
The assailants fled the scene following the stabbing, prompting widespread protests from the Hindu community, who demanded action against the Islamists. The police, responding to the outcry, arrested a suspect identified as Angoor Alam, based on the accusations made by the Hindu participants.
Rajan Patel, one of the victims, later recounted the events: “My name is Rajan Patel, I am a resident here. The dispute happened because the Muslim side started dancing in the immersion procession, and then fighting broke out. We asked them to move, but they didn’t. They started attacking me together. Besides me, another youth was also injured.” Rajan’s injuries were treated at the Community Health Center (CHC) in Salempur, where his condition was stabilized.
In response to the incident, both the District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP) of Deoria visited the scene to assess the situation. Deoria’s DM, Divya Mittal, addressed the media, saying: “Today in Majhauli Raj, Deoria, there was a Durga idol immersion. Some boys from outside entered this immersion procession, leading to a dispute and then a fight. In this fight, a youth named Rajan was injured. His treatment was done at CHC Salempur. His condition is stable. Based on the complaint given by the relatives, the main accused Angoor Alam was arrested.”
#WATCH | Deoria, Uttar Pradesh | SP Sankalp Sharma says, “During the immersion procession in Majhauli Raj town under Salempur police station area in Deoria district, some youths got into a fight in which a youth got injured. He has been admitted to the hospital, his condition is… pic.twitter.com/M1G9PSgYIe
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) October 17, 2024
SP Sankalp Sharma provided further details, stating, “During the immersion procession in Salempur police station area of Deoria district, there was a fight among some youths, resulting in injuries to one youth. Based on the complaint given by the relatives, a case has been registered. The main accused has been arrested. The immersion was also completed without further incident.”
The attack has drawn significant attention from local leaders. State Minister and Salempur MLA Vijay Lakshmi Gautam expressed her sorrow over the incident in a Facebook post, writing: “I am extremely saddened and speechless by the attack with sharp weapons by various assailants who infiltrated the procession of devotees going for idol immersion in Majhauli Raj, my assembly constituency in Salempur. I have instructed the private and district hospital administration for the treatment of all injured devotees.”
This incident comes on the heels of a similarly violent episode in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, just days earlier. On October 13, 2024, a 22-year-old Hindu man named Ram Gopal Mishra was killed by an Islamist mob during another Durga Visarjan procession. The mob pelted stones at the procession as it passed by a mosque. In retaliation, Mishra removed a green flag from the house of Abdul Hamid and replaced it with a saffron one. Enraged, the mob dragged him from the terrace and shot him more than 15 times, leaving 35 empty shells at the scene.
These consecutive attacks have sparked fear and outrage among the Hindu community in the region, with calls for increased security and justice for the victims of religiously motivated violence.
