On Monday, August 21, on the occasion of Nagpanchami, Hindu religious processions taken out by the Mahaviri Akhada came under vicious attacks in Bihar’s Bagaha, Motihari and other districts. As per reports, severe stone pelting, vandalism, and clashes have been reported in these areas. Videos of the incident showed mobs, standing on rooftops and in the middle of the road, pelting stones at the procession.
At least a dozen people, including three policemen and a journalist, were injured alone in the clash that occurred in Bihar’s Bagaha district.
Now, according to the latest information that has emerged, the religious procession in the Bagaha district had come under brutal attack, when it reached a mosque in the Ratanmela area.
According to a Bhaskar report, (an archive version of the report can be viewed here) the procession was heading along its scheduled path. Muslims in the neighbourhood of Ratanmela began to outrage as the procession passed by a mosque. They said that the Mahaviri flag cannot pass through the area. This enraged the Hindus and an altercation broke out between the two sides. Soon thereafter, stones started raining at the procession from the roofs and across the road.
Meanwhile, the Bagaha police took to X, formally Twitter to issue a statement on the incident on August 21. It confirmed that the situation in the area has returned to normalcy. They added that neither any mosque nor any member belonging to the particular community had been attacked in this clash. “Bagaha police appeals to all of you not to pay attention to all the rumours,” the post read.
आज दिनांक 21.8.23 को बगहा शहरी क्षेत्र में महावीरी जुलूस में दो समुदायों के बीच झड़प हुआ था। इस झड़प में ना ही किसी मस्जिद पर हमला हुआ है और ना किसी समुदाय विशेष पर हमला किया गया है ।बगहा पुलिस आप सभी से अपील करतीं हैं कि आप सभी अफ़वाहों पर ध्यान नहीं दे । @bihar_police
— Bagaha Police (@p_bagaha) August 21, 2023
To delve further into the details of the incident, OpIndia spoke to a Bajrang Dal activist from Bagaha in Bihar. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he also confirmed that the procession being taken out by the Hindu outfit was attacked when it was passing the mosque in the Ratanmela area in the Bagaha district.
Stone pelting in Bihar on Hindus during religious procession from OpIndia Videos on Vimeo.
Sharing a video of the incident, the Bajrang Dal activist said that though the procession was taken out with prior police approval the frenzied mob brutally attacked the Hindus participating in the procession.
Other videos of the incident that emerged on social media showed mobs standing on rooftops and pelting stones at the procession. Even police personnel can be seen running here and there to save themselves from the onslaught of stones from adjacent rooftops.
▶️ बिहार के मोतिहारी-मेहसी, कल्याणपुर और दरपा में हिंसक झड़प
— Zee News (@ZeeNews) August 22, 2023
▶️ इलाके में भारी पुलिसबल तैनात#BiharNews #MahaviriJulus @ramm_sharma @jhapras pic.twitter.com/SGKXI6mgx1
A Zee News report has stated that despite adequate police presence, the stone pelting attack was so severe that even police personnel scattered to save their own lives. Incidents of vandalism and arson have been reported too.
In the Motihari district, similar incidents of clashes were reported from 3 different places. In Mehsi, Kalyanpur and Darpa, religious processions by Hindus were attacked by stone pelters. As per a report by Jagran, when policemen tried to control the situation by lathi charge, they were attacked too. Several policemen have been injured.
In Darpa, a procession in Pipra was attacked by some elements in Pachiyari Tola. Bricks and stones were hurled between two groups. Darpa SHO Dharmendra Yadav was reportedly injured in the incident.
