At least 15 people were injured in a communal clash in Hailakandi district in Assam on Friday, NorthEast Now reported. The local administration imposed a curfew soon after the clash. Three police constables were among those injured. Several shops and motorbikes were also damaged.
Local reports said that the tension started when motorbikes owned by devotees were vandalised while they were praying inside a mosque. The motorbike owners lodged a first information report and demanded that the police take action against the accused and said that they will offer prayers on the road if action was not taken.
Mohneesh Mishra, Hailakandi’s police chief, told Scroll.in that the clashes began when a group of Muslim men assembled on a public road in the town and said they will offer prayers on the street. “The other group tried to stop [them] and that led to an argument,” said Mishra, while adding that heavy security had been deployed in the area.
District Magistrate Keerthi Jalli told Outlook that the situation is under control. “The police and administration are on alert to avert any kind of incident,” Jalli said, adding that the administration feared a “grave risk to human life and property if free movement of people was allowed.”
Meanwhile, Assam’s Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya urged for restraint. “The problem can be solved amicably without creating violence,” Suklabaidya said. “I plead to people of all the communities to help in maintaining law and order. If there is an issue, the administration and police will take action.”
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