Communal clashes broke out on Diwali night in Vadodara and till Tuesday morning, the police have rounded up at least a dozen rioters while the process of identifying them is currently underway.
The clashes erupted on Monday night in the city’s Panigate area.
Addressing the local media, Vadodara Deputy Commissioner of Police, Yaspal Jaganiya said: “The exact reason for the violence is yet to be ascertained. The moment police learnt of the incident, personnel from across the city were moved to spot and the situation was brought under control. A petrol bomb was hurled at the police from the terrace of the house, one person is held in this regard.”
A mob also damaged a few shops in the area and set some on fire.
Officials said street lights were cut off before the clash broke out, after which rioters from the two sides started hurling stones. According to a local resident, the clashes broke out over bursting of firecrackers near the Muslim medical college in Panigate area.
This is an oft-used tactic to start a fight, whereby Islamists prohibit any non-Muslim activity, especially Hindu festival celebrations, in Muslim-dominated or even mixed-population areas. In the West too, similar ‘sharia zones’ or ‘no-go areas’ have begun to crop up, and 1000s of such areas exist across Bharat. In the recent Leicester anti-Hindu violence too, Islamists took umbrage to a peaceful Hindu protest passing through a street having a mosque.
As per reports violence is routinely seen in this part of Vadodara during Hindu festival celebrations: “Situation in this area had heated up earlier in August during the Ganesh Chaturthi as well. 13 people were detained after stones were pelted on the procession during Ganesh Visarjan. Similarly, such clashes took place in same area during Navratri as well.”
(With IANS inputs)
