On October 9, at around 8:30 PM, two groups from different communities clashed at Village Piwday, Kampel Grampanchayat, Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Seven people in total were injured during the clash, out of which five were from the Muslim family while two were from the Hindu family. Two of the injured were women.
इंदौर जिले के कंपैल चौकी क्षेत्र में दिनांक 9.10 21 की रात्रि को दो पक्षों के बीच विवाद को लेकर सामान्य मारपीट हुई है, जिस पर इंदौर पुलिस द्वारा तत्परता से वैधानिक कार्यवाही की गई है।
— Indore Police (@PoliceIndore) October 10, 2021
Police denied communal angle in Indore clash
The members of the Muslim family have alleged that a mob of Hindus attacked them on Saturday night and beaten them as the Muslim family did not “adhere to their orders to leave the Hindu-dominant village by October 9”. They also alleged that the Hindus were chanting Jai Shri Ram while beating them.
इंदौर जिले के कंपैल चौकी क्षेत्र में 9.10 21 की रात्रि को दो पक्षों के बीच विवाद को लेकर मारपीट हुई है, पुलिस द्वारा तत्परता से कार्यवाही कर प्रकरण कायम किए गए हैं। अपराध की प्रकृति अनुरूप वैधानिक कार्रवाई की गई है. प्रतिबंधात्मक कार्यवाही कर बाउंडओवर कराया जा रहा है।
— SP Indore – West (@SP_Indore_west) October 10, 2021
However, contrary to the statement given by the Muslim family, the Police denied any communal angle. OpIndia reached out to Superintendent of Police Mahesh Chandra Jain, who said, “It was a fight between two families over some financial dispute. There was no communal angle to the story. We do not have any information about the allegations of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chants.”
Madhya Pradesh: Five people were injured in clashes between two groups at a village in the Kampel area of Indore yesterday. Further investigation is underway: Ajay Bajpai, DSP, Indore pic.twitter.com/CWESausW5x
— ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2021
While talking to news agency PTI, SP Jain said that seven people sustained minor injuries. While the incident is being given a communal colour on social media platforms, the Police refuted the claims. They said it was a dispute between the two families, and there was nothing communal about it. SP Jain said, “Based on counter complaints filed by the two sides, cases were registered against people from both the sides under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 294 (obscene acts or words in public), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 147 (rioting).”
As per reports, the Hindu family had commissioned the Muslim family for some repair work for a tractor-trolley which was not completed even after two months since the payment was made. The Muslim family allegedly failed to refund the amount as well that led to the fight between the two groups.
The Indian Express quoted Sub-inspector Vishwajeet Tomar saying, “The Geyasuddin family was given some money by the other group to build a trolley but neither did they make the trolley nor did they return the money which prima facie appears to have triggered the incident and the two groups have clashed. There has been a cross-complaint registered based on the complaint of Vikas Patel, who lives near the village.”
Tomar further denied the claims that the men belonged to RSS and threatened the Muslim family to leave the village. He said, “This information was not given to us when the FIR was being registered. We are not aware of it. We are investigating the case as there are cross FIRs from both sides, and both parties have sustained injuries.”
He said that there were claims that the Geyasuddin family was attacked by over 100 people, which was false. There were around nine men involved in the attack. The rest of the people were mere spectators who gathered around the house.
Geyasuddin family’s side of the story
Farukh Geyasuddin was one of the injured. His son, Shahrukh Geyasuddin, told Indian Express that the mob allegedly barged into their house and started beating them with rods that were lying nearby. His sister Fauziya was present at the house when the incident took place. She alleged that the men came in a row of cars, and when she tried to record a video of the incident, one of the men snatched the phone and smashed it. The Muslim family rushed to the Police Station. From there, they were sent to Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital in Indore for a medical test. An FIR was registered based on the Muslim family’s complaint.
Indore clash: What Vikas Patel said
According to the Police, in the counter-complaint, Patel said that he had given money to the Geyasuddin family for some repair work around three months ago. However, the work was not completed even after three months. Geyasuddins did not return the money as well. It led to a clash between the two groups.
