Mhow (Madhya Pradesh): Fourteen people were arrested on Monday after large-scale communal clashes, stone pelting and arson in this town on Sunday night, during India’s Champions Trophy victory celebration. However, the town remained peaceful on Monday, with heavy police force, including Quick Response Force (QRF) personnel, deployed at all sensitive locations.
Indore SP (rural) Hitika Wasal told the media, “Fourteen people have been detained in connection with the stone pelting and arson.” The SP said 14 people were injured in stone pelting in all five incidents in Raj Mohalla, Taal Mohalla, Sewa Marg, Jama Masjid and Patti Bazar areas.
“Police teams are checking all videos and more cases are being registered. Four cases have been registered so far, in which 28 people have been named while unidentified people have also been accused. Due to multiple incidents, more cases will be registered by Monday late night,” the official said. Wasal said Pankaj Verma of Raj Mohalla suffered severe head injury in the violence and was sent to MY hospital while Mukesh Jariya of Babu Gali, Pritam Solanki of Motimahal Talkies and Sagar Yadav of Gujarkheda sustained fractures. Sub Inspector Sandeep Akhadiya of Mhow police station was surrounded by miscreants and was manhandled, leading to severe injury in his right leg.
Earlier on Sunday night, police had to use lathi-charge and tear gas when hundreds of miscreants were on the roads, hell bent on taking law in their hands. While police were tackling the situation in Jama Masjid, Taal Mohalla and Raj Mohalla areas, some miscreants attacked two multi-storey houses at the Patti Bazar crossing and set a Maruti Alto car and two bikes ablaze. They also threw burning thermocol pieces on the gate of a pathology lab there, due to which its front portion was badly burnt. They also hurled stones and brickbats on the upper floors of two houses, resulting in heavy damage. They tried to burn two more cars at the same place but were unsuccessful as the police reached there.
When the victory procession was being taken out, someone had switched off the streetlights of a large area of the market by breaking the lock of the control panel of Mhow Cantonment Board (MCB) installed in Patti Bazar. Thereafter, the house of journalist Radhe Kaushal was attacked and his car and two bikes set on fire. The mob tried to burn two more cars but they could not catch fire. Meanwhile, the markets in the city were closed on Monday in protest against Sunday night’s violence and arson. City Qazi of Jama Masjid Mohammed Jaber told the media that Muslims were being maligned by saying that they were troubled by India’s victory.
“This is wrong. This incident happened due to the weakness of the administration. It was decided in the presence of the administrative officials that no procession would pass in front of Jama Masjid. There was no permission for the procession that took place at night, nor was there anyone to welcome it. It was a mob of miscreants raising slogans in the name of India’s victory in front of mosques and religious places. They threw petrol bombs at the mosque. There were no piles of stones in the mosques. If the Muslims were throwing stones, then flowers were not coming from the other side. Stone-pelting took place from both sides. Muslims’ shops and vehicles were set on fire. The miscreants entered their homes and beat them. We request the administration to investigate the CCTV camera footage and find out who indulged in arson and where,” the cleric said.
NSA to be imposed on those involved in Mhow violence
District magistrate and collector Asheesh Singh said here on Monday that the situation in Mhow was peaceful and under control now after Sunday night’s violence and as a precaution, adequate security arrangements had been made. Action was being taken against the culprits and they would also be booked under the National Security Act (NSA). Collector Singh said that a detailed investigation of the clashes was under way. So far, an FIR had been lodged against 13 accused, he said.
The collector said that strict vigil was being kept in Mhow and appealed to the citizens not to pay attention to rumours. He also warned of action against rumour-mongers and those who disturbed peace and law and order. Earlier, on receiving information about the clashes, collector Singh and SP Rural Hitika Wasal along with district administration and police officials immediately reached Mhow and remained present till late night to control the situation.
