Gujarat: 13 detained after communal clash breaks out during Ganpati procession in Vadodara
Windows of the Panigate Darwaza Masjid were shattered as Hindus and Muslims hurled stones at each other.
Thirteen persons were detained on Tuesday, a day after a clash broke out between members of the Hindu and Muslim communities during a Ganpati procession in Gujarat’s Vadodara city, ANI reported citing the police.
The incident was reported in the Panigate neighbourhood of the city at 11.15 pm.
Hindus and Muslims allegedly hurled stones at each other following an argument when a procession of Hindu idol Ganesh was passing through the area, the Hindustan Times reported. Windows of the Panigate Darwaza Masjid were shattered.
“People from the two communities started arguing with each other,” said Joint Commissioner of Vadodara Police Chirag Koradia. “The matter escalated with members from both the groups hurling stones at each other. In the process, a glass on the main gate of a mosque was damaged.”
The situation on Tuesday was peaceful, the official told ANI.
“I appeal to the public to not pay heed to rumours,” Koradia said. “Police are investigating the matter.”
No injuries were reported in the incident, according to PTI.
A first information report has been registered at Vadodara city police station against members of both the communities under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 336 (rash act endangering human life or personal safety) and 295 (defiling place of worship) of the Indian Penal Code.
On April 2, communal clashes had broken out in a Muslim-dominated area of Rajasthan’s Karauli city after a motorcycle rally passed through it, allegedly playing communally-charged songs, on Nav Samvatsar, the first day of the Hindu new year.
Thirty-five persons were injured in the violence.
On April 10, similar clashes erupted across the country during Ram Navami processions. Two people had died and several others injured in the violence that broke out in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Goa.
A few days later, violence broke out in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri after members of Hindu and Muslim communities clashed during a Hanuman Jayanti procession.