Communal tension erupted in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan on Friday night when Hindus and Muslims came out on the streets and kept throwing bricks, stones and glass bottles at each other for about one and a half hours. The dispute started when an agreement between Hindus and Muslims in the area was broken 15 years ago, which soon turned into violence. In the violence, a Hindu woman lost sight of one eye.
Below
At the root of the violent incident near Rajaram Circle of Sursagar is a gate being built behind the Eidgah, an attempt to construct which had given rise to a dispute about 15 years ago. The construction was stopped back then. The agreement was breached last evening.
As soon as Hindus of the locality came to know about the opening of the gate of the Eidgah in front of the Hanuman temple, they reached there to protest. After some commotion, a consensus was reached to remove the gate.
The Muslims side, unhappy with the decision, poured into the streets in large numbers late at night. The two communities hurled rocks at one another for about one and a half hours. A shop and a tractor were set on fire while a jeep was vandalised.
How the Hindu woman lost an eye
The Hindu woman who lost an eye, Lajwanti Gehlot said that her grandson was playing outside the house at around 9:30 PM on Friday, according to a report in NDTV India, when she heard loud noises from outside. When she came out to secure her grandson, a stone hit her eye.
Her family took her to the hospital where the doctors said that she had lost sight in an eye. On Saturday, Gehlot reached the Sursagar police station and recorded her statement. The police took the Hindu woman to the hospital for a medico-legal test.
Section 144 has been implemented in Sursagar. Heavy police force and RAC teams are deployed in every street and locality of the area.
With the help of drones, the houses of the suspects who threw stones from the roofs are being identified. Based on evidence found with the help of CCTV, the police are raiding people’s houses and arresting them.
During the investigation, some CCTV cameras in the area were found to be defunct, with their wires cut by unknown miscreants. The situation was brought under control by late Friday night, but tension remains in the area.
Jodhpur West Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Kumar Yadav said that two policemen were injured in the tension that took place last night. “We have registered two FIRs based on the complaints of both the parties. A total of 200 people are named in these FIRs,” he said.
A total of 45 people have been arrested so far, out of which seven are Hindus. The police are carrying out search operations in the area to catch the remaining suspects.
The situation is under control at the moment. But tension persists here. Women cops have been included in the deployed police force.
