Gujarat: 30 people arrested for planting saffron flag at Dargah during Hanuman Jayanti Shobha Yatra

30 people have been arrested in connection with the unauthorized (without permission) installation of a saffron flag on a dargah during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in Veraval town of Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district on Saturday (April 16). A senior police officer gave this information on Monday.

Gir Somnath’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Manohar Singh Jadeja said the incident took place at Magrebisha Bapu Dargah in Wakhria Bazar area here and several people involved had made videos of the act on mobile and posted it on social media. The SP said, ‘After the video went viral, people from both the communities started gathering on Saturday (April 16) night. However, the police immediately reached the spot, dispersed the crowd and brought the situation under control. Flag marches were also conducted in the surrounding sensitive areas.

Jadeja said, ‘On Sunday (April 17) two FIRs were registered. One FIR was registered under IPC section 153A (promoting enmity between two communities) and 295A (outraging religious feelings) while the other under section 188 for taking out procession without permission. He said that eight people have been arrested for allegedly raising flags above the dargah, while 22 people have been arrested for taking out procession on Hanuman Jayanti without permission.

Earlier, amidst reports of communal violence from different states of the country on the day of Ram Navami, a picture had also surfaced from Muzaffarpur in Bihar, in which a youth can be seen putting a saffron flag on the minaret of the mosque. The video of the incident had gone viral on a wide scale. In this, many bike riders waving swords and hockey sticks can be seen encouraging the youth. A case was registered after the video surfaced.

Maharashtra: Curfew after two groups clash over removal of religious flags in Achalpur
Amravati: A clash broke out between members of two communities over removal of religious flags in Achalpur town of Amravati district of Maharashtra, following which curfew was imposed. People from both the groups pelted stones at each other, after which the police fired tear gas shells to disperse them.

Additional Superintendent of Police Shashikant Satav said that 22 people of both the groups have been detained after the incident which happened at midnight on Sunday (April 17) and now the situation is under control.

The exact number of injured is not yet known

According to the police, local residents put up flags of different religions over the window gate and groom gate at the main gate of Achalpur, 48 km from Amravati district headquarters, every year during various festivals. A police inspector said, “On Sunday midnight, some anti-social elements removed religious flags, after which an altercation ensued, which soon turned into stone-pelting. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

However, the situation came under control after the timely intervention of the SRPF (State Reserve Police Force) and the local police. Significantly, since April 2, several incidents of communal clashes have been reported during Hindu religious processions including Ram Navami on April 10. Hindu and Muslim organizations have accused each other of inciting violence. On April 10, during the processions taken out by the Hindutva organization on the occasion of Ram Navami, there were reports of communal violence in states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Apart from this, violence erupted in Jahangirpuri area of ​​the capital Delhi during one such procession taken out on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti on 16th April. Stones were pelted after clashes between two communities during Hanuman Jayanti procession at Hollagunda village in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. On the evening of 16 April, four people were injured in the procession on Hanuman Jayanti from a village in Bhagwanpur area near Roorkee in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district.

The next day, on April 17, a mob attacked policemen, a hospital and a temple in Hubballi city of Karnataka over a social media post. A minor road accident in Gujarat’s Vadodara city on the late night of April 17 led to communal tension and rioters pelted stones at each other and damaged a place of worship and vehicles.