On Monday (22nd January), the idol of Lord Ram was consecrated in the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Not only in the country but Hindus all over the world celebrated this day like a grand festival. Shri Ram Shobha Yatras were organised everywhere. But violence by Islamists took place on this day too. Stones were pelted on the procession in two cities of Gujarat, while there was also fierce violence in Thane, Maharashtra. In Gujarat, stones were pelted in Kheralu on Sunday and on Monday, Hindus carrying a procession of Shri Ram were attacked by a Muslim mob in Bhoj in Vadodara.
Following the incident, an FIR has been lodged against 16 persons and the rest of the mob at Vadu police station in Padra taluka. A copy of the FIR is available with OpIndia. The FIR narrates how a Muslim mob in Bhoj collectively attacked the procession to kill Hindus.
In this FIR lodged at Vadu police station on January 22, a policeman himself has become the complainant. The head constable said in the complaint, “A procession of Lord Ram was organised in Bhoj village on the occasion of Shri Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha in Ayodhya and during this a total of 22 personnel of PSI, Police Constable, Home Guard, GRD were present on duty to maintain the law and order situation.
The incident took place when the procession reached near the mosque
According to the predeclared route, the Shobha Yatra started from the Ramji temple in Bhoj village at 2 p.m. and was attended by around 500 to 700 people from the Hindu community. Three DJ vehicles were also part of the yatra. The yatra started and reached in front of Nagina masjid in the village at around 3:35 p.m. At this time the organisers of the procession had turned the DJ off and were taking the yatra ahead.
According to the FIR, at the same time, a group of Muslims came together from the street in front of the Nagina Mosque in Bhoj with stones in their hands and they said ‘Today we have to reduce the number of Hindus by two or four, so they will not do such a thing again’. ‘Kill as many Hindus as you can’; ‘Don’t leave these people alive today’, they shouted as they marched towards the Shobha Yatra to carry out the attack.
As the mob did not listen, the police had to lathi charge and chase them away
As soon as the people involved in the procession heard such slogans, they were frightened and there was a ruckus. On the other hand, the Muslim mob threw stones and bricks at the people involved in the procession to kill them, due to which some were also injured.
The police said in the complaint, “The men in the Muslim mob rushed towards the procession, speaking foul language, and the policemen present at the spot stopped them but the attackers did not listen to them. Finally, as it was necessary to protect those involved in the procession, the police started a lathi charge and dispersed the attacking mob. The attackers fled the spot after police used force.”
The FIR further said, “A total of 8 people were injured in the attack, out of which 6 are women. The constable of Vadu police station was also injured. All of them were later shifted to the hospital for treatment.”
The saffron flags put up by Hindus were also removed two days ago
Apart from this, another thing is mentioned in the FIR, which states that before the procession, Hindus had put up saffron flags on its route, but they were removed and thrown away at night on 18th January. The organisers of the yatra later filed a complaint with the Vadu police station in this regard.
A case has been registered against the accused under sections 120B, 143, 144, 147, 148, 149, 152, 153A, 295A, 323, 332, 324, 307, 427, 294(b), 505(2), 505(3) of the IPC and section 135 of Gujarat Police Act. According to media reports, 13 accused have been arrested, while the search for the rest is currently underway.
