Communal tension gripped Nawada in Bihar on Tuesday after religious posters were torn by anti-social elements a day ahead of the Ram Navami festival, police said.
According to police, security forces have been deployed in the town and the situation is under control.
On Tuesday morning, hundreds of people blocked National Highway 31 to protest and demanded action against anti-social elements involved in tearing religious posters in Nawada town, about 150 km from Patna.
The trouble began at Sadbhavna Chowk where a huge cut-out of Lord Ram was found destroyed. There were also reports of stone-pelting at a group demonstrating at the chowk. Local police reportedly fired five rounds in the air to disperse the mob.
Both slogan shouting groups clashed and pelted stones at each other. They broke the glasses of vehicles and set a few shops ablaze.Vikas Barman, Superintendent of Police
According to a police official, Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who is the BJP MP from Nawada parliamentary constituency, was present in the town at the time of the incident.
Soon after being informed about the incident, Singh reached the site and appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony.
Nawada District Magistrate (DM) Manoj Kumar said "the administration has begun a probe into the matter and deployed adequate security forces at all sensitive places."
Incidentally, Sadbhavna Chowk was so named by the then DM S Vijayalaxmi to symbolise communal harmony.
In an earlier incident in 2013, communal tension erupted in Nawada after an altercation between a group of kanwarias (Hindu pilgrims) and another community, over the menu of a roadside eatery. Two youths were killed in the incident.
(With inputs from IANS)
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