Communal violence erupted in Sihora town in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Members of two communities clashed, and stone-pelting was reported in the area, and the shops and vehicles in the area were damaged. The police used teargas shells to bring the situation in the area under control. The incident was reported from the Azad Chowk area of the town on February 19. After the incident was reported, the police tightened the security in the area, said a senior police official. Some videos of the crash have gone viral on social media.
The eyewitnesses of this incident stated that a mosque and a temple of goddess Durga are located close to each other in the area of Sihora town. When aarti was being performed at the temple, members of both communities clashed over the damaged safety grill of the temple. The fight turned out to be extremely violent. Members of both groups began stone-throwing. During this communal clash, the shops and vehicles parked on the roadside were damaged, the senior official said.
To stop both groups from fighting, the police first used mild force, but people kept fighting. To bring the situation under their control, the police then used teargas shells, the official said.
The senior police officials and people from the administration department then paid a visit to the spot. There, they examined the scene, the senior police official said.
District Collector Raghavendra Singh said that the situation is now under control. Superintendent of Police Sampat Upadhyay said, “Members of two communities clashed and indulged in vandalism. In order to bring the situation under control, the police had to fire eight to ten teargas shells.”
Sports and Youth Welfare and Cooperatives Minister Vishwas Sarang said that Madhya Pradesh is a very peaceful state. Speaking with the reporters in Bhopal, he said that no individual or group has the right to take the law into their own hands. He said, “A viral video shows stones being hurled from atop a mosque. An investigation is underway, and action is being taken against the culprits. No one has the right to take the law into their own hands in this manner. How the stones were collected at the mosque is a matter of investigation,” Sarang said.