A 24 hour curfew has been imposed in Bhainsa, a town in Telangana’s Nirmal district, after a communal clash late on the night of Sunday 10 May.
The violence took place in the Shivajinagar and AP Nagar areas in Bhainsa.
According to locals, tensions began after a few people belonging to the Hindu community objected to prayers being held at a mosque in the area, saying that it is in violation of the social distancing in place due to COVID-19.
Local Muslims, however, say that the norms were being followed and only five people were at the mosque praying at a distance from each other.
According to the police, later that night a man in an inebriated condition created nuisance near the mosque, which led to the clashes. There was stone pelting and two people were injured in the clash, one of whom is said to be in a serious condition.
District Superintendent of Police (SP), Shashidhar Raju and Karimnagar Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Pramod Kumar inspected the troubled areas in the town.
SP Raju told the media: “The situation in Bhainsa town came under control by 2 am, now everything is peaceful. We have caught several people after watching the videos, the remaining persons also will be traced and arrested.”
He added, “As many as four cases were registered related to the incident: one on a person for entering a mosque and one for stone pelting. Another two cases for damaging vehicles and attacking another person.”
Section 144 has been imposed on the town from Monday.
A Background of Violence
This is the second incident of violence in the recent past in Bhainsa. In January this year, the around 20 people were injured and several vehicles and houses set on fire in a communal clash. The violence was allegedly sparked due to a few youths creating ruckus in the Koraba Galli area.
The January violence also came on the eve of a polarised electoral battle in the municipal elections between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. The AIMIM eventually took control of the municipality winning 15 wards against BJP’s nine.
Once a marginal player, the BJP has been growing in the northern part of Telangana for the past couple of years. It did well in the Lok Sabha elections as well winning four seats in the state, including Adilabad, under which Bhainsa falls.
The TRS and AIMIM have often accused Telangana BJP leaders like Nizamabad MP D Arvind and T Raja Singh of making communally charged comments to polarise. The BJP has made similar allegations against the AIMIM.
(With inputs from The News Minute)
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