Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 14: Violence re-erupted in Maharajganj in Bahraich district in Uttar Pradesh on Monday where a communal clash over immersion of Durga idol resulted in the killing of a 22-year old youth in a private firing and injuring many on Sunday.
The police conducted flag marches after shops were set on fire and men armed with sticks and iron rods were seen roaming the streets in some pockets. Around 30 people have been detained in connection with the unrest.
According to Bahraich Superintendent of Police (SP), Vrinda Shukla, at least 30 people were detained and a First Information Report (FIR) was registered in connection with the Sunday’s violence against a person identified as Salman, as shots were fired from his house, which also functions as a shop, that killed Ram Gopal Mishra. Police said a hunt to trace down the main accused was underway.
Despite heightened security arrangements in the area, protesters on Monday set fire to several shops and vehicles in the vicinity. One hospital was also torched. The violence in Bahraich broke out while the idol immersion procession was passing through a Muslim-dominated area. Reportedly, an argument between two groups escalated, after which stones were pelted and bullets were fired, thus killing one person.
Shukla also said the procession was halted at various places, during which some miscreants attempted to create disturbance. Identities of those involved in the incident are being ascertained and some suspects have been detained, she said. “All anarchist elements will be identified,” Shukla said, adding that stringent action would be taken against them,” she said.
The police have been conducting route marches since the incident happened in the area to maintain law and order. To bring the situation under control, the police resorted to lathi charge and fired tear gas at protesters in Bahraich.
The District Magistrate Monika Rani visited the violence-hit area and said she was trying to control the situation. Internet services were suspended in Bahraich to avoid any untoward incidents in the area, and to control any misinformation being spread via social media platforms.
Sunday’s violence was triggered by a disagreement over music being blasted out from loudspeakers while the procession was passing through the area. As the matter snowballed, stone throwing and firing started, in which six people were injured.
Ram Gopal Mishra of Rehua Mansoor village was walking in the procession when he sustained gunshot wounds and died during treatment in the local hospital, one of his family members said. The area was fraught with communal tension after the killing. Similar processions were cancelled in Fakharpur town and some other places.
On the instructions of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Home Secretary Sanjeev Gupta and ADG Law & Order Officials said Home Secretary Sanjeev Gupta and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash have reached the spot to take stock of the situation. “The situation is being brought under control and anti-social elements are being chased away,” Vrinda Shukla said.
The family members of Ram Gopal Mishra took to the streets with his body refusing to cremate it and held a sit-down protest demanding justice. They were accompanied by their relatives and hundreds of other locals, who also protested against the incident.
They relented after assurances of action from the police and administration officials. “We are moving ahead with the last rites,’ Sureshwar Singh, the BJP MLA from Mahsi, said. The man, he said, had got married four months ago and his family has demanded that cases be registered against those responsible, and the senior officers of the local police outpost be suspended. Mishra’s last rites were performed later.
The Chief Minister took cognizance of the situation and emphasized that those who seek to vitiate the atmosphere in Bahraich will not be spared. “Those who spoil the atmosphere in Mahsi of Bahraich district will not be spared. Safety is guaranteed to all, but instructions have been given to identify the rioters and those whose negligence led to the incident and take strict action against them,” Yogi wrote in a post on X.
“Immersion of idols will continue. Administration and police officials have been directed to be present on the spot and communicate with religious organizations to ensure that the immersion of idols is done on time,” the Chief Minister added.
In a post on X earlier on Monday, senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra appealed to the Chief Minister to take action in the matter. “The news of violence in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, and the inaction of the administration are extremely sad and unfortunate… I appeal to the chief minister of the state and the state administration to take immediate action, take the public into confidence and stop the violence. Strictest action should be taken against the culprits. My humble appeal to the public, please do not take the law into your own hands,” her post read.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, in an X post, wrote, “Any conspiracy to disturb the peace and harmony of Uttar Pradesh will not succeed. Those who protect the rioters are once again becoming active, but we have to be cautious and vigilant. The bright future of the state will not be allowed to be tampered with. The culprits will be brought under the ambit of the law and given strict punishment and the victims will get complete justice. I appeal to all the citizens to maintain peace and patience.”
The BJP MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi alleged the attack on Ram Gopal Mishra was “planned.” “This was well planned, the truth cannot be hidden by spreading lies, these illegal relatives of extremists will get a befitting reply,” he wrote in an X post.
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Fakhrul Hasan Chaand slammed the BJP government in the state and said, “The law and order has become questionable in UP. In the Bahraich incident, the shortcomings of the administration were exposed somewhere or the other. It was a failure of the police, it was a failure of the intelligence. Whether it is Bahraich or the tension in Ghaziabad, that is also not hidden from anybody.”
Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai said, “There is jungle raj in the entire state. Shots were fired there (in Bahraich) and the government allowed a lathi-charge during the 481st Bharat Milap in Varanasi. The Chief Minister should resign and go back to the math.”
