On March 18, 2022, on the occasion of Holi, an incident of stone-pelting was reported in Topchanchi, Dhanbad district, Jharkhand. According to a report by the Hindi daily, Jagran, at first, the Islamists refused to allow a group of Hindus celebrating Holi to pass through their area and then resorted to stone-pelting when the latter resented. Police vehicles were also damaged by these stone-pelters. The police resorted to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control.
Though peace prevailed after police intervention, a large police contingent has been deployed to avoid any further untoward incidents. Risma Ramesan, a rural SP, visited the village and spoke to the people of both communities and requested to keep calm. The police said they are keeping a close eye on the situation.
The commotion in the village began when the Muslim residents of the area refused to allow the Holi celebrators to pass through their locality. Following this, both parties got into a tussle. Both remained steadfast in their stance. The situation deteriorated and the people of the Muslim community started pelting stones at the Hindus celebrating Holi.
As word of the commotion spread, a police team arrived in the village to quell the commotion; however, the miscreants began pelting stones at police vehicles as well. According to reports, the vehicles of CO Vikas Kumar Trivedi and Baghmara’s SDPO Nisha Murmu were also damaged by the stone-pelters. The SDPO was also hurt in the incident.
Despite the stone-pelting, the police stood firm and used lathi-charge to pacify the situation, averting what could turn into a major communal clash. The village has been tense after the incident. The entire village has been transformed into a police camp, with a curfew has been imposed throughout the village.
In a similar incident, the Holi celebrations in the Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh took a communal turn when some members of a ‘particular community’ took offence to DJ music being played by Hindus as part of the festival’s celebrations. The incident also took place on March 18, Friday. Two people namely Adesh and Bunty were reportedly injured in the stone-pelting incident.
