In the Palamu incident where Muslims indulged in violence over the installation of ‘toran dwar’ (welcome gates) by the Hindus ahead of Mahashivratri, the Jharkhand police have registered 2 separate FIRs naming 147 named people and around 500 unknown people. Police have so far arrested 13 of them. The situation is becoming normal before the festival, the Police said. On Wednesday, violence erupted over the issue which stones were pelted and houses were burnt.
The arrested persons include Nehal Ansari, Mobin Ansari, Mehboob Alam, Shahzad Alam, Zahid Ansari, Karan Kumar Singh, Roshan Kumar, Sumit Singh, Deepak Kumar Gupta, Ritesh Kumar Singh, Dhananjay Kumar Bhuiyan, Madan Ram, and Rajiullah Ansari. Among them, Nehal is a former head of Panki Paschim Panchayat.
Police conducted a flag march in the area to maintain law and order. Markets and schools closed remained closed. Around 1000 personnel of district police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the area.
According to the reports, a meeting was held with a peace committee by IG Rajkumar Lakra, Deputy Commissioner A Dode and SP Chandan Sinha, to which people from both communities were invited. The police instructed the Mulsim community and said that only 4 persons would attend the Friday prayers at the mosque in Panki Bazar amid the imposition of sec 144 in the region.
Palamu clashes | Jharkhand: Section 144 will remain in force for a few days now. Internet service will also remain closed for 2 days: Anjaneyulu Dodde, DC Palamu pic.twitter.com/QPmo3BtJgt
— ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2023
On the other hand, the government told the Hindu side’s representatives that just five individuals, including the priest, would attend Mahashivratri rituals at the Nearby Pir Pahadi temple. Hindu participants in the peace committee discussions also urged that some stores be opened in honour of the Mahashivratri festival, but the administration instructed both groups to abide by section 144.
“Positive discussions were held with both groups. There was a good response from them. We are controlling the situation in a balanced manner. The situation will become normal in the next 1-2 days. 2 FIRs were filed while 11 have been arrested. 30-40 have been named,” confirmed Rajkumar Lakra, IG, Palamu.
“Section 144 will remain in force for a few days now. Internet service will also remain closed for 2 days,” he added. This is a day after the paamilitary forces staged a flag march in riot affected area to ensure safety and instill confidence in the minds of the people ahead of the Hindu festival.
The police said that both the communities during the peace committee agreed to abide by section 144. “Soon the situation will become normal and shops will also open. The Home Department has directed internet service to be suspended in the area till 10.30 am on February 19,” the police announced at the peace committee meeting.
Several people were injured in the violence after a Muslim mob attacked Hindus opposing decorations put up for the Mahashivaratri tomorrow. About 1 dozen people, including police officers, were injured during this altercation. The incident took place in the Panki Bazar area close to a mosque.
Local Hindus were building welcome gates at Bhagat Singh Chowk for Mahashivratri to be celebrated on February 18. The people of the Muslim community there opposed the construction of this gate, as per reports. At first, there was an argument between the two sides, which later turned into a clash and stone-pelting. On seeing this, people from both sides came to fight. An additional police force has also been deployed to control the situation. Locals have said that the attack on Hindus were directed from the nearby mosque.
Notably, Peace Committees are formed after communal violence in sensitive areas to resolve disputes within the communities. The goal of these committees is to provide a permanent, relevant framework that members of the community, the government, and others can relate to in times of conflict. When a Peace Committee is formed, it identifies itself as a body that will assist in mediating conflicts within the society.
Such committees have been formed earlier several times after the Jahangirpuri violence in April last year, after the anti-Hindu Khargone violence in Madhya Pradesh, after Shaheen bagh violence and also after the anti-CAA protests in 2019 at Jamia Milia Islamia in Delhi.
In the year 2008, the then Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta had written to the Chief Secretary conveying guidelines issued to the states based on the government order released in the year 1997. At that time, the Janata Dal-led government was at the centre under Inder Kumar Gujarat as Prime Minister, with Congress’s support from the outside.
The letter suggested that every town identified as communally sensitive should have a Peace Committee consisting of prominent citizens of all communities, representatives of political parties, public representative, office bearers of prominent associations/union.
Communal forces and anti-social elements should not be included in the Committee. At the time of apprehension of communal tension, meetings of the Peace Committee should always be called to discuss all matters relating to the communal tension. Efforts should be made to enlist the support of the members of the Committee for persuading the members of different communities to find an amicable settlement of the cause of tension and to defuse the situation,” the letter written by Gupta read.
The rules clearly stated that communal forces and anti-social elements need not attend such gatherings. The guidelines further suggested, “Women are the most affected group in communal tensions or riots. They can be effective in helping to defuse the communal tension and to prevent riots. As such, they should get fair representation in the membership of the Peace Committees/Integration Committee/Tripartite Committees.”
