Violence erupted at Panki Bazar in Palamu of Jharkhand over a welcome gate being built ahead of Mahashivratri celebrations. In this case, local Hindus are accusing the administration of being biased against Hindus. There is a Hanuman temple near the mosque. Locals say that some Islamists planned the violence because they did not want Hindus to worship and perform rituals in this temple.
The administration has imposed Section 144 in the area and has also shut down the internet service in the area. After Section 144, a gathering of more than four people has been banned in the area.
The priest of the Hanuman temple says that the administration has also removed the loudspeaker from the temple. Worship and aarti etc. were organized through this loudspeaker. The priest says that the administration has removed the loudspeaker from the temple, but has not removed it from the mosque. Azaan is still being offered on loudspeaker five times a day.
The Hindus accused the Palamu administration of unilateral action, saying Hindus were being harassed. Locals say that if the administration had taken strict measures in the beginning, the riot would not have spread so much. Along with Hindus, many policemen have also been injured in stone pelting from the mosque.
Locals have also complained that on the day of the violence, there was a wedding of a Hindu girl in the area. The police did not allow dhol baaja and processions, and Baraatis (wedding guests) were only allowed to the wedding venue in small groups.
Local administration and police harassed Hindus, say locals
Locals told OpIndia that Hindus were being targeted by the administration. Most of the Hindu boys in the area are on the run from their homes. People allege that the police administration is assaulting them. The women of their houses are being abused by the police.
It is being said that a TV journalist was also beaten up by the police. At the same time, the police are accused of entering the house of a teacher and assaulting him. People say that the police are torturing Hindus while giving protection to Muslims. However, the district administration has denied any such incident.
People say that after the incident the police lathi-charged the Hindus. Many Hindus have also been injured by this. People say that the police administration is forcibly entering the houses of Hindus. The police allegedly broke the doors to enter Hindu houses and abused the women. The local administration has denied these claims.
People allege that Hindus are being forcibly taken away and beaten up badly. At the same time, the police are giving protection to Muslims. Locals say that local Congress MLAs are also supporting Muslims. For this reason, the police administration is not taking any action against Muslims.
Locals say that there are backward and Dalit people living in the area. That is why Muslims often torture them. People say that the area of upper caste people is 5-6 kilometres away. That’s why they often have to bear the apathy of local administration.
How did the violence start?
Locals said that on the night of February 14, some labourers were digging pits on the road to build a welcome gate. Around six pits had to be dug. One of these pits was falling in front of a shop named Muskan Mobile. The owner of this shop is Kaleem Alam. He stopped Hindus from digging the pit.
After this, the tent owner was called to install the welcome gate. When local Hindus asked why he is not allowing the gates to be installed, Kaleem said that it falls right in front of his shop. On this, the local Hindus said “Aren’t the same pits dug at that place when Muslims set up tents to celebrate a program? This welcome gate will be there for just four days, after that the gate will be removed.” On this, Kaleem said that he will not allow the Hindus to raise even a pole of the gate. He said, “Do whatever you want to do.”
Local Hindus told OpIndia that in response to Kaleem’s adamant stand, the local Hindus replied, “This is government land and you cannot stop here.” After this, Kaleem and another person named Mehboob went to the mosque. After this, they started talking to each other and gradually 50-60 people gathered there.
The Hindus informed the police station. When the police officer came here, he asked what was happening. The police officer said, “If the welcome gate has not been installed here before, then why are you installing it now?” The locals asked him, “Sir, you tell us where to set it then if not here. We will install the gate wherever you tell us to.” The police officer said that leave this spot and go to another place. After this, the police officer left.
Locals said that during this time, Muslims came and started uprooting the installation and hit a Hindu on the head. In this attack, the victim received 8 stitches. People say that Muslims went to their homes from there and started throwing stones from the roofs. They also started pelting stones from the mosque. People say that stones were brought in a tractor and were kept on rooftops.
