Authorities in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday imposed orders prohibiting four or more persons from gathering in parts of Shajapur city after some people allegedly threw stones at a religious procession.
The violence occurred in the city’s Magaria area on Monday evening after some Muslims allegedly stopped a procession that was organised ahead of the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple. One person was seriously injured while two others sustained minor injuries in the violence, according to the police.
The police filed a case under provisions of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to rioting, promoting communal enmity, and hurting religious sentiments. The first information report has been filed against 24 named persons and 15-20 others. All the named persons are Muslims.
Superintendent of Police Yashpal Singh Rajput said that eight persons have been detained. “They are from Muslim community because the complaint has come from only one side,” he told Scroll.
Orders banning four or more persons from gathering have been imposed in the areas of Magaria, Kachhiwada and Lalpura.
District Collector Riju Bafna said the situation is currently peaceful and that legal action would be taken against the miscreants.
The police complaint was filed by a man named Mohit Rathore, who was part of the procession. According to the complainant, on Monday evening, some Muslim men near a mosque on the Naag-Naagin Road stopped the procession taken out ahead of the Ram Temple consecration.
The accused men allegedly told members of the procession that they should go back as the area was a Muslim-dominated one, which led to an altercation. According to the complaint, members of the procession were abused and attacked with swords, and stones were thrown from rooftops.
Mohammad Irshad, a local Congress member, told Scroll: “The Hindutva supporters took their march into the Muslim neighbourhood and shouted slogans outside Moti Masjid. This enraged Muslims who also shouted slogans.”
Another resident said that after the incident, members of Hindutva groups gathered outside the police station, demanding action against Muslims who stopped the procession. Shajapur MLA Arun Bhimawad also visited the police station and asked officials to act against the accused persons.
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