Properties of suspected rioters demolished in Madhya Pradesh

Over 80 arrested after communal violence singes Khargone

A day after communal clashes singed Khargone in Madhya Pradesh on the occasion of Ram Navami, the police on Monday said they have arrested more than 80 persons.

Less than 24 hours after the violence, the local administration demolished properties and houses of suspects allegedly involved in the violence. The city remained under curfew on Monday.

Similar incidents of communal violence were reported on Ram Navami on Sunday from Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Karnataka and Gujarat, which left two persons dead and scores injured even as the Union Home Ministry remained silent on the issue.

A senior police officer told The Hindu that in Khargone the violence broke when stones were hurled at a religious procession while it was passing through a lane adjacent to a mosque.

Asked if the procession had the required police permission as allegations have been raised that provocative slogans were raised near the mosque, Sumer Singh Mujalda, Additional District Magistrate of Khargone, said, “It is a traditional route for Ram Navami celebrations and the members had police permission. The procession was suspended for the past two years due to COVID-19. The situation is under control now.” Ten persons were injured in the violence.

The 2.5-km procession that started from Talab Bazaar had to converge at Shri Ram Dharamshala.

“Khargone is a communally sensitive place. We had earlier also requested the administration to deploy adequate police force, but the request was not heeded to. It is a police failure,” Ravi Joshi, Khargone MLA from the Congress, said.