Forty people have been arrested in Bihar where violence during Ram Navami processions left one dead and several injured last week amid reports of attacks on mosques and madrasas.
With the Bihar administration announcing partial relaxation in prohibitory orders in Nalanda and Rohtas districts of Bihar, days after communal clashes were reported during Ram Navami processions, life seems to be ambling back to normalcy but remnants of violence remain rife. In Biharsharif town, for instance, shops were allowed to open from 10 am to 2 pm only and most remained closed.
Clashes broke out in Nalanda's Biharsharif town on Friday when a large procession of Ram Navami was passing through areas with a minority population. The preplanned procession started from Shram Kalyan and concluded three kilometres away at Maniram ka Akhada.
As violence broke out, one person succumbed to bullet injuries and several people were left injured. Following the incident, Section 144 was imposed in the affected areas and the internet was suspended. Further, a heavy police force was deployed.
All government and private schools were ordered to remain shut till April 4 after six people were injured in a blast in Sasaram town of Rohtas district. The blast was reported on Saturday evening in Sherganj locality where the Bihar Police arrested two people in connection with the blast. Although the situation is returning to normal, internet service is still suspended and police are doing flag marches.
Anurag Sharan, a local journalist says, “In Sasaram, the clashes were sporadic and centred in just a couple of localities, but fake news on social media and misreporting of some news channels has maligned the Ganga-Jamuni Tahzeeb of the town.”
A total of 43 arrests have been made so far and dozens of police personnel have been kept on vigil.
Madrasa Azizia, which is the oldest madrassa and library, in Biharsharif was set on fire. Some 4,500 books, some of them rare, were burnt to ashes. Besides, a masjid along with a few shops were vandalised and a mall was looted.
Around 500 students were enrolled with Madrasa Azizia which is affiliated with Madarsa Board. Maulana Qasim, principal of Madarsa, tells Outlook, “All the books including documents and marksheets of students were burnt. There are cracks in the building due to the fire. Once the internet service is restored, we will request the Madrasa board to make the marksheets available and will also ask for funds to rebuild the building so that we can start teaching students."
However, how the violence started in Biharsharif is still unclear. 70-year-old Akbar Azad, a member of the peace committee, tells Outlook that the procession was largely peaceful until a few youths emerged from the crowd and forced them to chant Jai Shri Ram. “Few youths came to us and told us to say, Jai Shri Ram. We somehow sent them with a procession. After a few minutes, we saw clutter in the crowd. Then stone pelting started. I was attacked severely. I kept calling for an ambulance but it didn’t come, I had to stay bleeding at my house the whole night."
He adds, "Then the crowd attacked a masjid, burnt the old Madrassa and library, attacked a burial ground and shops. It seems they had preplanned the violence."
Before the procession, a meeting with the peace committee was organized. A member of the peace committee tells Outlook, “Bajrang Dal and VHP representatives had said that dozens of villages have been invited for the procession and more than one lakh people will participate in this.” But police didn’t take it seriously and the huge procession was accompanied by less than one dozen darogas and lady constables, which shows the ignorance of top police officials, says a local.
Dr Sunil Kumar, a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, who was with Janata Dal (U) earlier, alleged that first the procession was attacked in ‘other community’ concentrated areas and in retaliation they counter-attacked. “Violence was reported till 10pm and the police force didn’t work actively. The situation came into control after then when force from Patna came to the affected areas,” he adds.
The Bihar Police has denied allegations that several people have been missing and 30 people have died during clashes, treating them as "fake news".
Similar incidents of violence were reported last year in Bihar when the aftermath of violence during Ram Navami processions left five people injured in the Aurangabad district. Around the same time, saffron flags were hoisted in Muzaffarpur that triggered violence at Paru and Kathaiya prompting authorities to deploy additional security forces.