More than 200 police personnel were deployed around a housing society in Maharashtra’s Mira Bhayandar after clashes erupted between Muslim residents and Hindutva groups in connection with goats being brought into the premises ahead of Bakrid, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.

Bakrid, also known as Eid-al-Adha, is a Muslim festival that commemorates the spirit of sacrifice. The festival is traditionally marked by the slaughtering of goats. The festival is on Thursday.

The tension at Poonam Cluster 1, a housing society in Mira Bhayandar of Thane district, erupted on Monday night after some residents objected to a temporary shed being built to allegedly keep around 50 goats for sacrifice.

An unidentified resident told The Indian Express that for several years, animals have been brought in for sacrifice, but some persons “feel uncomfortable” about it.

Municipal rules earlier permitted the temporary grant of permission for sacrifice in housing society common areas if conditions related to hygiene, sanitation and the absence of nearby licensed slaughter facilities were met, according to the newspaper.

However, the situation escalated this year after some residents called members of the Bajrang Dal to the society.

The Bajrang Dal is part of a group of Hindutva organisations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

At around 10 pm on Monday, Bajrang Dal leaders arrived and asked residents to remove the goats, leading to arguments, according to The Indian Express.

About two hours later, another leader of the Hindutva group, Nagnath Kamble, reached the spot with his supporters. Police said a man allegedly tried to attack Kamble with a knife around 12.50 am on Tuesday. Harsh Singh, a Bajrang Dal worker, was injured while trying to intervene.

Tensions flared again on Tuesday afternoon when more than 100 members of the Hindutva group gathered outside the society and recited the Hindu hymn Hanuman Chalisa while demanding that the goats be removed.

Clashes broke out between the protesters and Muslim residents before the police intervened and dispersed the crowd.

Police also stopped some protesters who allegedly tried to bring a pig into the area in protest against the goats kept for sacrifice, reported India Today.

Pigs are often used as a form of provocation during communal incidents as they are considered forbidden in Islam.

As tensions rose, the local administration arranged for the goats to be shifted to an alternative location provided by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation, Deputy Commissioner of Police Rahul Chavan told The Indian Express.

“The goats have now been shifted there,” Chavan said.

The police have registered a first information report under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against an unidentified person for the attack on Singh. The police said one person had been detained and would be formally arrested after questioning, The Indian Express reported.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya visited the area during the protests and alleged that goats were “deliberately being brought into Hindu-majority localities to create an atmosphere of fear among vegetarian and Jain families”.

Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde and other BJP leaders called on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to impose a blanket ban on goat sacrifice in housing societies and chawls during Bakrid, India Today reported.

On the other hand, Congress leaders in the area accused the BJP and affiliated organisations of escalating tensions.

Congress corporator Zuber Inamdar said residents had been bringing goats into the complex every year and claimed slaughter had never taken place within the premises.

Edited by Sneha.