The East Singhbhum police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on Monday after communal clashes erupted in Jamshedpur’s Kadma area on Sunday evening following the alleged desecration of a religious flag, reported The Indian Express.
Kadma police station in-charge Gaurav Kumar said, “We have registered an FIR, and we have detained a few. We will be arresting the culprits shortly.”
Security forces conducted flag march in Jamshedpur’s Kadma police station area on Monday, and prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC were clamped in the area. Mobile internet services also continue to be suspended, reported ANI.
Tensions simmered in Shastrinagar area in Jamshedpur on Saturday night when members of a local organisation alleged that they found a piece of meat was tagged to a Ram Navami flag, leading to protests demanding the arrest of the culprits in 24 hours. A day later, the situation turned violent in the evening when a shop was gutted leading to stone-pelting from both sides.
Two shops and an auto-rickshaw were set ablaze by warring groups. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob.
East Singhbhum district Deputy Commissioner Vijaya Jadhav said that “anti-social elements” were trying to disturb law and order situation in the area.
“We have been keeping strict vigil on the situation and deployed adequate police force, a Quick Response Team, a Magistrate, Rapid Action Force personnel and other anti-riot resources to maintain law and order,” she said in a statement, as reported by PTI.
DIG (Kolhan) Ajay Linda said that local miscreants had set on fire the shops and the vehicle, adding that strict action will be taken against those who indulged in anti-social activities to disturb communal harmony.
Several incidents of communal clashes were reported from various parts of the nation, during the celebration of Ram Navami, which took place on March 28.
Stone-pelting was reported from Howrah district of West Bengal, a day after two groups clashed during a Ram Navami procession on March 30. Several properties were vandalised and vehicles were set on fire. Similar incident was also witnessed in Hooghly district of the state.
In Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, earlier known as Aurangabad, an argument between two groups snowballed into a clash. A police team was attacked, and several vehicles were also set on fire in the incident which took place in Kiradpura locality, which has a famous Ram Temple.