Bihar: Communal Tension Grips 2 Towns After Clashes During Ram Navami Procession

Patna: Communal tension gripped two Bihar towns, Sasaram and Biharsharif, on Friday following clashes between two communities over a minor dispute during Ram Navami procession on Thursday night.

This has happened two days ahead of senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Sasaram (on April 2) to address a public meeting.

Security forces have been heavily deployed in both the town, and district administration has imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in Sasaram in view of the tension. Most of the markets and educational institutions remained closed, the number of vehicles on the roads was one-fourth than normal.

In Biharsharif, the district headquarters of Nalanda, security forces were deployed following violent clashes and tension.

"Clashes took place after some people allegedly pelted stones on Ram Navami procession on Friday evening. After that, over 12 vehicles were torched, and opened fire in which two people sustained bullets", a police official in Nalanda, the home district of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, said.

"Despite tension, the situation is under control and additional security forces deployed and administration is fully alert to maintain peace", the Sasaram district superintendent of police Vineet Kumar told NewsClick.

According to reports from Sasaram, district headquarters of Rohtas, situated at a distance of about 150 km from Patna, the trouble began on Thursday night at Sahajlal locality during Ram Navami procession organised by Right wing Hindu organisations when some local people opposed some youths for parking their motorcycles and objected to the slogans raised. After the procession moved ahead, some local residents reportedly damaged some motorcycles and beat two or three youths returning from the procession. But the police immediately intervened and controlled the situation by talking to both communities.

However, on Friday, angry over the night’s incident, some youths belonging to a particular community (majority) took to streets and started pelting stones at several places in the town. This was followed by clashes between the two communities in which over a dozen people were injured, including two police officials.

As per reports, miscreants set ablaze a few houses, vehicles were torched and crude bombs were lobbed on some houses.

Taking communal tension into consideration, the entire district has been sealed and all police stations have been alerted.