The furore over the brutality unleashed by Munger police personnel on the Hindu devotees who participated in the Durga Puja immersion ceremony in the town, which led to the death of an 18-year-old youth, has been on the rise. Hundreds of angry locals have now allegedly ransacked the SP Lipi Singh’s office and set fire to police vehicles as their fury over the police excesses escalated.
#मुंगेर_जल_रहा_है#आमिर_सुब्हानी_और_लिपि_सिंह को ससपेंड नहीं करने के विरोध में आज मजबूर होकर हिन्दू समाज अपनी रक्षा हेतु रोड पर है,और बता रहा है कि अब अत्याचार नहीं सहेगा।सस्पेंड नहीं करने के कारण दो थाना को लोगो ने फूंक दिया@ajeetbharti @swati_gs @drskj01 @Shubhrastha pic.twitter.com/00JaOfHJ0u
— Shubham Bhardwaj (@Shubham_vhp) October 29, 2020
Miffed by the callousness shown by the Munger authorities to act against the police officials who had indiscriminately attacked and fired at the devotees during Durga Puja idol immersion event on October 27, leaving one dead and several injured, hundreds of the locals reportedly reached the East Sarai police station to agitate. They vandalised and pelted stones at the PS and set fire to two police vehicle parked outside. The board next to the police office was also uprooted. The group of angry youths also vandalized the secret branch office of the SDO.
The angry mob took to the streets to protest against the police administration and demanded that the police officer who shot the young devotee should be charged with murder. They also demanded immediate suspension of Lipi Singh, the superintendent of police (SP) of Munger, Bihar.
The situation remains tensed. In order to control the exacerbations, additional police forces have been deployed in the area.
EC orders immediate removal of Munger SP
With the rage over the Munger incident rising, the Election Commission had earlier in the day ordered the immediate removal of Munger Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate. As per reports, a new DM and SP will be posted in Munger today itself.
SP Lipi Singh defends the police brutalities on the devotees
After the videos of the police unleashing brutality on the Hindu devotees went viral on social media and people started outraging for the police excesses, the SP of Munger, Lipi Singh had gone on to defend the police brutalities on the devotees, claiming that the stone-pelting from devotees provoked the ensuing violence. She also asserted that 20 policemen were injured by stone-pelting from the crowd. She had added that one of the members of the crowd opened fire which led to the death of the 18-year-old devotee.
The SP, however, drew flak for brazening out police heavy-handedness on devotees in Durga procession and the calls for her suspension started to rise. Following the backlash the Munger police had deactivated its Twitter account.
Police open fire at Durga Visarjan procession in Munger
The violence, as per reports, had broken out after Kotwali police asked Hindus not to delay the idol immersion procession of Shadipur Badi Durga. Traditionally, the idols are immersed after three days of Vijayadashami but this time, in view of the first phase of Assembly polls in the state on Wednesday, the administration had insisted on the immersion by 5 am on Tuesday.
Durga puja organizers, as instructed, had taken out the procession allegedly with DJs close to midnight as they headed for the immersion. The situation turned ugly around 11.50 pm when police officials used brutal force on Hindus going for Durga Puja Visarjan.
Several videos of the incident had gone viral on the internet in which police officials of Munger Police were seen mercilessly charging the devotees with batons. An 18-year-old man was killed and several others were injured in the ensuing violence.
