Violence occurred in multiple states during a Hindu religious festival, prompting the mobilisation of hundreds of riot police and the shutdown of mobile internet access in eastern India. 

At least one person was killed by a gunshot on Saturday in the town of Bihar Sharif in Bihar state’s Nalanda district, where Hindus were holding a procession to celebrate Ram Navami. According to reports from local media, the victim was a minor. 

This happened the day after crowds destroyed homes and businesses during the town’s sometimes violent festival celebrations.

According to local media, amid the celebrations, a renowned Muslim school was set on fire in Bihar Sharif. Large processions led by people carrying swords, sticks, tridents, and even guns are common during the Ram Navami festival in numerous regions of India.

In recent years, the gatherings have been known to march through Muslim neighbourhoods while blasting loudly played religious and often hate filled music.

When thousands of Hindus took to the streets and paraded through Muslim-dominated regions on Thursday, violence erupted. Nalanda’s police commander, Shibli Nomani, said over 100 individuals had been arrested.

“The situation is under control. We are patrolling the area and ensuring no gatherings are allowed,” he told AFP news agency, adding that the unrest was being investigated.”

In two other cities in Bihar, there were also reports of violence between different groups. Making the government shut down mobile internet in some areas and made it harder for people to move around. Six people were hurt when a bomb went off inside a house where two men were apparently building one.

Violence broke out in at least seven other Indian states in the days after the Hindu festival. Dozens were hurt, and hundreds were arrested in at least 13 towns and cities, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and West Bengal, where crowds went crazy and set cars and shops on fire in the Howrah district on Thursday. 

According to a high-ranking police official, locals attacked the procession with rocks as it made its way through the region. Banerjee stated that there were mistakes made by the police and that severe measures would be taken. 

Banerjee further blamed the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for encouraging the violence. The BJP said she was discriminating against Hindus. 

Source – Tru News Report

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