Stones were pelted at the Police at Bhagalpur in Bihar when they attempted to prevent Muslims from gathering in large numbers on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. Bullets were fired during the incident which occurred at the graveyard in Habibpur as well, however, no one was injured from the firing. One homeguard suffered injuries due to the stone-pelting. The incident occurred on the evening of Thursday.
Bhagalpur SP Sushant Kumar Saroj along with Police from half a dozen police stations in the vicinity rushed to the spot after coming to know of the incident. The Police conducted a flag march and made an appeal to people to stay indoors. The announcement was made from the Masjids as well, following which, the people went to their homes. The Police has camped in the entire area.
At evening on Thursday, Muslim youth in significant numbers were going towards the graveyard which is situated at Habibpur’s Momin Tola. When they were stopped by the Police, they got into a conflict with the Police. An attempt was made to catch some of the youth but they started running. Then, they started abusing the Police and got into fisticuffs with the law enforcement. Soon enough, they started pelting the Police with stones.
Shab-e-Barat is an important festival for the Muslim community which is celebrated as a night forgiveness. It is believed that Allah forgives sinners if they pray on the occasion of the Shab-e-Barat. Muslims go to graveyards to ask for forgiveness on behalf of the deceased. Ahead of the festival, the Police and administration across the country had appealed to the Muslim community to not come out of their homes since the lockdown to combat the Wuhan Coronavirus was still in force.