Tension flared in Sihora town in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district as members of two communities clashed, which resulted in stone pelting and vandalized shops and vehicles in the area, leading to the usage of teargas shells to bring the situation under control.
The incident unfolded in the Azad Chowk area of the town, leading to the deployment of heavy police.
As per the accounts of the eyewitness, a temple of Goddess Durga and a mosque are adjacent to each other in the Azad Chowk area, and when prayers in the temple were underway, the clashes erupted over the safety grill of the temple. The clash soon turned violent, with stone pelting from both sides, leading to vandalism of shops and vehicles parked on the road.
“The incident occurred in the Azad Chowk area of the town on Thursday night, after which a heavy police force was deployed there,” the police officer told PTI.
Mild force was used initially by police to stop the clashes, but due to uncontrollable clashes, the police fired teargas shells, bringing the situation under control.
“Members of two communities clashed and indulged in vandalism. In order to bring the situation under control, the police had to fire eight to ten tear gas shells,” Superintendent of Police Sampat Upadhyay said.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Bhopal on Friday, Sports and Youth Welfare and Cooperatives Minister Vishwas Sarang said Madhya Pradesh is a peaceful state and asserted that no individual or group has the right to take the law into their own hands.
The authorities, including District Collector Raghavendra Singh and Superintendent of Police Sampat Upadhyay, have confirmed that peace has been attained and law and order have been maintained.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Bhopal on Friday, Sports and Youth Welfare and Cooperatives Minister Vishwas Sarang said, “No one has the right to take the law into their own hands in this manner. How the stones were collected at the mosque is a matter of investigation.”
