Jharkhand: Communal clashes break out over loudspeaker use on Maha Shivratri
The disagreement escalated into stone-pelting and arson – leaving several people injured and vehicles set on fire, the police said.
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A communal clash erupted in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district on Wednesday over the use of loudspeakers and display of flags during celebrations for the Hindu festival of Maha Shivratri, PTI reported.
The incident occurred in Dumraun village’s Ichak block when a group of people objected to the flags and loudspeakers being placed near a madrasa, Ichak Block Development Officer Santosh Kumar told The Indian Express. The disagreement quickly escalated to stone-throwing and arson.
Several people were injured in the clash and taken to the Hazaribagh civil hospital, India Today reported. Three motorcycles and a car were set on fire in the violence, The Indian Express reported.
“Adequate forces have been deployed and senior officers are camping at the site,” Hazaribagh Deputy Commissioner of Police Nancy Sahay was quoted as saying by ANI. “As of now [the] situation is under control and peaceful.”
#WATCH | Jharkhand | Scuffle and stone pelting incident took place this morning in Ichak area of Hazaribagh district; Adequate security forces deployed in the area
— ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2025
A scuffle and stone pelting took place this morning over using a sound system in Ichak area of Hazaribagh district.… pic.twitter.com/o7xjgsuJyl
The two communities have been in talks to “resolve the issue”, Kumar told The Indian Express.
The newspaper did not clarify whether the communities were from different religions but quoted Kumar as saying that they had clashed over a minar-like structure inside the madrasa in the past.
A first information report has been registered in the case, Hazaribagh Additional Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar told the newspaper.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sanjay Seth blamed “Bangladeshi infiltrators” for the violence.
“Nowhere in the country does violence happen,” Seth said. “It happens in Jharkhand. Why? Because Bangladeshi infiltrators are affecting the demography and law and order. Wherever there is BJP-NDA [Bharatiya Janata Party-National Democratic Alliance] government, be it Delhi, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh - Bangladeshi infiltrators are identified and driven out.”
The BJP has frequently sought to push unsubstantiated claims of undocumented immigration from Bangladesh as the reason for demographic changes in the state.
A Scroll investigation found such claims to be false.
#WATCH | Jharkhand: On the incident of violence in Hazaribagh, Union Minister & BJP MP from Ranchi, Sanjay Seth says, "This is condemnable and painful. Government should be strict with such people. Violence breaks out during idol immersion after Saraswati Puja. Violence breaks… pic.twitter.com/mmFu9Y7v5d
— ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2025