Ahead of Eid celebration, communal tension broke out in Jodhpur, Rajasthan on Monday night over raising flags in the Jalori Gate area. The clashes soon led to stone pelting, leaving at least four policemen injured in the early hours of Tuesday.
Internet services have been suspended in Jodhpur to stop the spread of misinformation. According to reports, Namaaz was offered under police vigilance.
The two sides clashed with each other over installing a religious flag in connection with Eid, police said. A three-day Parshuram Jayanti festival is also underway in Jodhpur.
"Four policemen were injured in the stone-pelting. A heavy police force was deployed in the area to control the situation," a source in the police control room said.
The police lobbed tear gas shells to control the situation hours before Eid in the hometown of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who appealed to the people to maintain peace.
The chief minister asked the people to uphold brotherhood and called the incident unfortunate.
"While respecting the tradition of love and brotherhood of Jodhpur, Marwar, I make a touching appeal to all the parties to maintain peace and cooperate in restoring law and order," he said in a tweet.
Gehlot said he has instructed the administration to maintain peace and order.
The clashes come at a time when the country is witnessing a spike in communal tension and violence following religious processions.
Weeks back, communal tension broke out between two groups in north Delhi’s Jahangirpuri following the Hanuman Jayanti procession. The incident led to the demolition of properties of residents residing in the Jahangirpuri slums.
(with inputs from PTI)
