A violent confrontation broke out between two communities when an idol immersion procession was passing in front of the Dalalji ki Masjid in Alamganj in Patna, leaving over a dozen policemen injured, including IG Sanjay Singh. The incident took place on Monday at around 11 PM. The security in the region was beefed up as the situation continued to remain tense even on Tuesday.
According to media reports, police sources have said that the Hindus have claimed that while the procession was passing in front of Dalalji ki Masjid, the Muslim side pelted the procession with stones. While the stones were being pelted, the idol also got damaged.
The miscreants indulged in blatant vandalism as several police vehicles and a fire tenders were damaged while 2 bikes were torched by them. One of the bikes was set on fire right in front of the mosque. The clashes, which erupted at around 11 PM continued for about 2 hours till 1 AM after which the administration somehow managed to bring it under control.
Several police officers including IG Sanjay Singh who were trapped in the crosshairs of the two battling sides got injured in the clashes as massive stone-pelting took between the two warring sides. Realising that the confrontation may escalate, the entire police force was directed to move towards Alamganj to contain the brawl. Later, Bihar Military Police (BMP) Gorkha Vahini was also deployed at the spot. IG and other injured policemen were later given first aid at the Alamganj police station.
While the Hindus have said that the clashes started after people from the Mosque started pelting stones, but the Muslim side has claimed that the Hindus were drunk and started a spat amongst themselves but they blamed the Muslims for it. The claim is that the procession moved forward but then later the youth came back and started a fight.
Following the news of the violent clashes, senior police officials rushed to the spot to ensure law and order is maintained. Patna DM Kumar Ravi and SSP Garima Malik camped at the spot till early morning. SP West Jitendra Kumar, SP Central Vinay Tiwary and several other sub-divisional police officers and station house officers remained deployed at the scene.
With conflicting versions of the events, an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the clash. No arrests or detentions have been made by the police so far in the case.