The situation in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district became tense after a group of Muslims attacked a Hindu boy named Tejkaran Gehlot and shot him in the leg on Monday. A dispute between Gehlot and Muslims over a shop outside the Sohan Kothi complex in Bikaner, led to the blockage of the main road for five hours and disrupted public order in the district.
BJP Member Laxmikant Bharadwaj happened to share videos of the dreadful incident on Twitter. “Sajid, Sadik, Firoz, Irfan, Shahrukh, Sikander attacked Tejkaran Gelhlot in Bikaner. He has been shot in his leg”, he wrote. Further, he added that the Muslims in large numbers were pelting stones at the public who decided to keep shut the markets in support of Tejkaran. According to the reports, the public was up till night, demanding strict action against the accused.
राजस्थान के बीकानेर में कल तेजकरण को साजिद,सद्दीक,फिरोज,इरफ़ान,शाहरुख़ , सिकंदर ने घेरकर बीच बाज़ार मारा, गोली मार दी 👇 pic.twitter.com/d1pYRtk6bz
— Laxmikant bhardwaj (@lkantbhardwaj) January 4, 2022
What exactly happened–
The dispute revolved around a shop outside the Sohan Kothi area, named ‘Dubai Darbar’ which was given on rent by Rajesh Tanwar to Mohommad Siddiq. It is alleged that the latter failed to pay the rent for several months as a result of which he (Siddiq) was asked to vacate the shop.
On Tuesday, as Tejkaran Gehlot, brother-in-law of Rajesh Tanwar, passed by the shop, the Muslim men led by Siddiq attacked him and fired at his leg. Frightened by the gunshot at around 5:30 pm in the evening, the entire market in Sohan Kothi was walled off. Tejkaran was lying on the road for a long time. Muslims reached the spot in large numbers and started vandalizing the vehicles, burning tyres and furniture.
The chaos elevated when the public reached the Ambedkar Circle and the Hospital Road in Bikaner. Some of them even entered the PBM hospital and disturbed the trauma centre inside. The district roads were blocked for more than 5 hours further disrupting the public passage.
Police Action in the case
Reports say that after receiving information about the incident, Bikaner Police force including ASP City Amit Kumar, CO City Deepchand, Kotgate SHO Manoj Machra, Sadar SHO SN Godara had reached the spot. People who had gathered at the Ambedkar Circle demanded the arrest of the accused. Later, the police conducted a flag march at 12 pm.
In a reply to Lakmikant Bharadwaj’s tweet, the Bikaner Police said that it has filed a complaint in the case already and the situation is under control now. “The issue is not that big. It revolves around a dispute over a shop in Sohan Kothi. The police had arrested several people in the case earlier. We are investigating the issue now”, the tweet read. It is important to note that the Bikaner police earlier this month, had arrested several people including Tejkaran Gehlot over the same dispute. Tejkaran was however granted bail.
दुकान खाली करवाने की बात को लेकर दो पक्षों का विवाद है जिनके मुकदमे दर्ज किए जा चुके है, कल हुई घटना को लेकर एक पक्ष द्वारा बाजार बंद करवाने के दौरान पत्थरबाजी की मामूली घटना हुई थी अब शांति है, वार्ता चल रही है। @RajPoliceHelp
— Bikaner Police (@Bikaner_Police) January 4, 2022
Kotgate SHO Manoj Machra said that on the report of the complainant Prakash Solanki at 11 pm, a case of murderous assault was registered against Mohammad Sajid, Mohammad Gul, Mohammad Firoz, Mohammad Saddiq, Firoz, Irfan, Shahrukh, Sikandar, Zafar and Saddam. The raids continued till late night at the premises of the accused for arrest.