On May 3, several areas of Jodhpur city witnessed clashes and violence when mobs started attacking the police following Eid prayers. Tension had erupted on the intervening night of May 2 and May 3 when a Muslim mob replaced a Bhagwa flag with an Islamic flag at the Jalori intersection in Jodhpur and taped the face of a statue of Freedom Fighter Balmukund Bissa.
Jodhpur Police have now confessed that the violence could have been nipped at an early stage if a timely assessment of intelligence reports had been done properly.
Reports say, there were comprehensive intelligence reports issued on the brink of Ramzan Eid and Hindu festivals of Parshuram Jayanti and Akshay Tritiya upon challenges that could prevail to maintain the law and order. However, Jodhpur Police was reportedly hesitant in taking decisive action when on the night of May 2 several Muslim youths gheraoed the Jalori Gate in the city to hoist an Islamic flag by replacing the Bhagwa one. Following this, on the next day, a large mob started damaging vehicles and pelting stones on the police just after the Eid Namaz.
हिन्दू नववर्ष के दिन करौली में दंगे के बाद अब CM श्री @ashokgehlot51 जी के गृहजिले जोधपुर के जालोरी गेट में हिंसक झड़प की घटना गहलोत सरकार के माथे पर कलंक है। गहलोत सरकार की तुष्टिकरण की नीति के कारण शांतिप्रिय राजस्थान में साम्प्रदायिक सद्भाव बिगाड़ने की दर्जनों भर घटनाएं हुई है pic.twitter.com/ffizBEN3GE
— Rajendra Rathore (@Rajendra4BJP) May 3, 2022
Some members of the mob had a scuffle with the Police after returning from Eid prayers. While they went on a rampage to vandalise vehicles parked on the road, the Police used a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. As the mob successfully managed to derail the law and order situation, Rajasthan Police’s promise of keeping the same fell flat the violence broke out in Jodhpur. Navjyoti Gogoi, Police Commissioner has admitted the lapses saying that there wasn’t an adequate Police force to deal with the situation. According to Gogoi, taking advantage of the scarce Police presence, the violators were able to escalate the situation.
Additional DG (law and order) Hawa Singh Ghumeria will now be ensuring that after reviewing the situation, an enquiry will be set up to examine the faults in the case. The city of Jodhpur continues to be under curfew while the Police is closely monitoring the situation with the help of CCTVs. To make sure that the situation does not escalate in the coming week, the Police have extended the curfew until Friday midnight. 13 FIRs have been registered in the case, and over 100 people have been arrested.
What happened in the Jalori Gate violence?
As per reports, during the Parshuram Jayanti celebrations, Hindu groups had hoisted saffron flags on the Jalori Gate Square. Some members of the Muslim community objected to it, after which the administration requested the Hindu community to remove the flags. The community obliged the request and removed all but one flag.
at around 11 PM, members of the Muslim community climbed on the statue of the freedom fighter Balmukund Bissa and removed the saffron flag. They covered the face of the statue with tape and hoisted an Islamic flag. During the scuffle between the communities, a police post nearby was also vandalized. Following the incidents of violence, Uday Mandir police Station in-charge Amit Sihag issued orders for a lathi charge in which at least seven journalists were injured. Jodhpur West Mayor Vanita Seth said though the stone-pelting was started by the Muslims, Police blamed Hindus for the same. Rajendra Rathore, Deputy Leader of Opposition, Rajasthan said that CM Ashok Gehlot failed to maintain peace in his own constituency.
