On Friday, the festival of Holi in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district turned violent as the people from the Muslim community attacked two persons who were playing with the colors in the areas surrounding a mosque. The people from the community in Behari claimed that the two had allegedly thrown colors at the mosque in the city. The youths were allegedly dragged by the mob and were kicked, beaten with sticks while they were on their bike, heading home after playing Holi. The youths somehow saved their lives.
Himanshu Patel, Bareilly chief of the ‘Rashtriya Yogi Sena’ tweeted the video to Bareilly Police and said, “Muslim people surrounded and attacked two bike-riding Hindu brothers passing through the road, badly hit them. Police must take cognizance of the matter and take action against the culprits”
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) March 19, 2022
According to the reports, the Police arrived at the spot and tried to pacify the matter, but to no avail. Tensions aroused as more people from the Muslim community joined the argument and blocked the streets. The video of the incident went viral over social media where people from the community can be seen pelting stones and disrupting the law and order of the city. The Police, further trying to control the situation carried out a baton charge and dispersed the crowd.
Jisne 2 masjido me ghus kr rang daala use abhi tk arrest nhi kiya h wo khuleaam ghoom raha h aur jo log police se insaf ki ummeed lgaye baithe the unke upr lathi charge hua. Kya yahi insaaf h up police ka. Kya protest hmara adhikar nhi h @Uppolice @dgpup @igrangebareilly @UPGovt pic.twitter.com/UenTrzA6FF
— Mohd_Nomaan_47 (@47Nomaan) March 18, 2022
The violent crowd then moved to the Nanital Highway and tried to block it. They also protested as they demanded immediate arrest of the persons who had allegedly thrown color at the mosque. The Samajwadi Party MLA Ataurrehman accompanied the crowd and demanded an FIR against those who threw colour at the mosque.
As reported by Prabhat Khabar, the SP MLA informed the SSP Bareilly about the matter and asked him to look into the complaint filed by Abdul Wahid, the caretaker of the mosque. Wahid in his complaint mentioned that he had already ordered the boys to avoid playing Holi in the areas around the mosque. The Bareilly Police then, based on the complaint registered an FIR against Rahul Gupta, Suresh Gangwar, and 40-50 unidentified persons for allegedly inciting the communal tensions on the occasion of the festival of Holi.
According to the SP Rajkumar Agrawal, the crowd had also misbehaved with the Police. “The crowd was becoming violent. They were protesting against the persons who threw color at the mosque. Some of them even attacked the Police while they were trying to pacify the matter. Then we had to carry out lathi charge”, he confirmed to ABP news.
The Police have so far registered a case against 2 BJP workers and 40-50 unidentified persons in the case. The Police have also assured to take strict action against those who blocked the Nainital Highway and attacked the Police.
