KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, April 10: Prohibitory order under Section144 of the CrPC has been promulgated at Shastrinagar under Kadma thana area on Sunday night after communal tension flared up between two communities there in the evening.
The situation in Shastrinagar is still tense but well under control following necessary police action and deployment of Rapid Action Force (RAF) since late in the night.
Trouble had started on Saturday when a polythene bag containing animal’s meat was found near a Hanuman temple at Shastrinagar.
As the bag in question was apparently intended to desecrate a religious flag, the members of the temple committee had reacted by assembling near the Hanuman temple. But sensing the issue may take an ugly turn, the police had intervened and pacified the disgruntled people on Saturday itself.
Incidentally, on Sunday evening when members of the Hanuman temple committee were holding a meeting at the temple premises, a section of people belonging to another community had started pelting stones aiming at the temple committee members.
The stone pelting act which was carried out from near Jhopra Masjid on Road No 3 in Shastrinagar had flared up the simmering tension. Soon after the temple committee members and several other sympathisers had retaliated by resorting to the stone-pelting.
While members of both the communities were engaged in stone-pelting at each other, a section of miscreants had set some vehicles and thatched shops on fire. But in the meantime, police intervened and brought the situation under control.
During the action taken by the police, senior police officers, including senior SP, Prabhat Kumar had reached the troubled spot.
Significantly, as the stone-pelting was continuing from the Jhopra Masjid side, over a dozen cops including a DSP were injured.
The police had to fire teargas shells and resort to lathicharge to control the situation. Soon after the local administration had imposed Section 144 in the area. Late in the night, RAF was also deployed in and around the troubled area.
Late in the night, East Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner Vijaya Jadhav had visited the scenario and later appealed the people to maintain peace.
Early on Monday morning, a senior BJP leader Abhay Singh was taken into custody from near his house at Kashidih in Sakchi. The police are interrogating Singh, who is also president of Central Ramnavami Akhara Samiti to find out whether he had any role behind the flaring up communal tension at Shastrinagar.
Meanwhile, the police have also taken dozens of people into custody suspecting their involvement in the communal clash at Shastrinagar.
