Communal tension in Chhatarpur, Khandwa and Bhopal

Communal tension is spreading to other parts of the state also. After Malwa region which has seen a spate of communal violence, the incidents in Chhatarpur, Bhopal and Khandwa on the same day, signal that something is seriously wrong.

At Chhatarpur, the Bajrang Dal, VHP and BJP leaders openly flouted the ban on public display of arms and fired in the air during the procession of Ram Navami that for the first time passed through Muslim localities of the town. Link to a story on Chhatarpur.

The Muslim community also took out a sort of procession ahead of Id Milad-un-Nabi and loud music was played when they passed the temple at Bus Stand. This caused a confrontation and a nearly 2,000 people from both sides resorted to attacking each other with stray objects. The police used tear gas and cane charged the mob.

However, the Milad-un-Nabi procession is scheduled on April 1 and there could be a display of arms in this procession as well. Though police has been called from three districts and top officials are camping there, the situation remains tense.

In Bhopal, a cow that got injured in an accident led to confrontation (Link). Rumours spread that a person belonging to other community attacked the animal. Stone pelting led to several persons getting injured in Barkhedi near Jehangirabad. Again, it was Bajrang Dal and VHP that was responsible. In Khandwa also there a violent clash during an auction that took a communal turn.

The state government appears helpless and unable to act tough against anti-socials and also Bajrang Dal members. It is said that groups within the BJP and the Uma Bharati's Bharatiya Jana Shakti may not be too unhappy with the scenerio.