Tejashwi Yadav links communal riots to Mohan Bhagwat's 14-day Bihar trip

Communal clashes erupted between two religious communities in Bihar over the vandalism of a Hanuman idol in Nawada

Normalcy was restored in Bihar on Friday after communal clashes erupted in the state on Thursday night between two religious communities over the vandalism of a Hanuman idol in Nawada. Heavy security has been deployed in the state after the police fired ten rounds of bullets in the air. 

“It was a matter of an idol being vandalised by some miscreants, which led to the communities coming face-to-face; situation is now under control,” said the Nawada District Magistrate Kaushal Kumar.

The Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) commandos of Bihar Police also conducted a flag march today in Nawada to restore normalcy, according to media reports. 

Some youths targeted the media, by damaging cameras and microphones of some media persons. 

The Nawada parliamentary constituency is represented by Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who is known to be a vocal champion of Hindutva politics.

Communal tension had also erupted in Nawada last year and in 2013. In the past week, communal tension that first started in Aurangabad district during Ram Navami processions, spread to Samastipur, Munger, Nalanda, Sheikhpura and Gaya districts.

The opposition parties have slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for what they called his "failure to handle the situation".

Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav on Friday blamed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the communal tension, saying he planned the trouble during his recent 14-day visit to the state.

In a related development on Friday, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker Anil Singh, who was arrested in connection with the recent communal clashes in Aurangabad town, managed to escape from police custody.
 

Nearly 50 people, including two local BJP workers, were on Thursday held in Samastipur and Nalanda districts of Bihar in connection with communal clashes that erupted in the last couple of days across several areas, including Bhagalpur and Aurangabad.

Here are the top 10 developments of the communal clashes in Bihar:

1. Tejashwi accuses RSS of inciting riots in Bihar: Tejashwi, a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and also former Deputy Chief Minister, alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) cadres were given training for violence during Bhagwat's visit.

"Mohan Bhagwat recently came to Bihar for 14 days. In these 14 days, he gave training on how to incite riots during Ram Navami. Now, people are getting to know about the agenda of his Bihar visit," Yadav said

However, Union Minister Ram Kirpal Yadav refuted Tejashwi terming his allegations baseless.

2. Situation under control: Normalcy was restored in Bihar after heavy deployment of police and active involvement of senior officials including the zonal Inspector General of Police, the DIG and the Divisional Commissioner concerned, though prohibitory orders under Section 144 were also clamped on Rosera which remain in force, according to Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Porika.

ALSO: Communal tension grips another Bihar town

The clashes, which erupted in Bhagalpur on March 17, had reportedly spread to seven more districts in the state.

3. BJP officials held: Those involved in the clashes are being identified with the help of CCTV footage and so far 11 persons have been taken into custody in Samastipur district where trouble had erupted on Tuesday when some miscreants hurled footwear at a procession carrying the idol of Goddess Durga for immersion upon the conclusion of Chaiti Navaratra festivities in Rohtas town, Superintendent of Police Deepak Ranjan said.

Two local BJP leaders were also among those detained for interrogation, the SP said while declining to divulge their names.

4. Nitish is finished, says Lalu: BJP has fostered violence in Bihar, jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad claimed on Thursday, and indicated that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's position was also ruined in effect.

"There are riots and incidents of violence all over Bihar. After locking me up, BJP has set the whole state ablaze. Nitish Kumar is finished now," Prasad had said. 

5. ‘Willing to pay price’: After facing criticism of inaction, JD (U) general secretary Shyam Rajak has said that Nitish Kumar never compromises on the law and order from and that they are “willing to pay any price” to restore order in the state, said the JD (U) general secretary Shyam Rajak, reported NDTV.

On March 27, howver, Nitish Kumar rose to intervene in the Bihar Assembly and said the floor of the House must not be used to give publicity to rumours which could aggravate communal tensions. He was targeting Tejashwi, who had lashed out at the government for the clashes.

Kumar said Ram Navami had passed off peacefully in Bihar "with a few exceptions" and asserted that there was no report of curfew or police firing in Aurangabad.

6. BJP member arrested, escapes: BJP worker Anil Singh, who was arrested in connection with the recent communal clash in Bihar's Aurangabad, has escaped from the police custody.

Singh, who was one of the central figures among the 148 persons booked in the matter fled away on Thursday.

BJP leaders Dinesh Jha and Mohan Patwa were arrested on the basis of a video footage of the incident in Rosera town of Samastipur.

Samastipur Superintendent of Police Dipak Ranjan said the two were arrested along with 10 others. He said they were questioned on the clashes.

ALSO: Congress behind communal unrest in Bihar, Bengal: Giriraj Singh

After the arrests, workers and supporters of BJP and JD(U) held a protest against the police action on Thursday and termed the action "one-sided".

BJP's Samastipur district President Ramsumran Singh had demanded the release of the two leaders without delay.

Communal tension again gripped Rosera town in Samastipur three days after communal clashes on Monday night. More than 60 persons, including policemen, were injured and dozens of shops and vehicles were torched in Rosera during the clashes.

Hundreds of additional security, including two battalions of the Rapid Action Force, have been deployed in sensitive areas in Rosera, with senior police officials keeping an eye on the situation.

7. Shops set on fire: The situation had gotten tensed on Thursday evening when rioters set ablaze more than 20 shops and pelted stones at those participating in the Rama Navami procession through Nawadih Colony.

As per reports, nearly 50 shops were torched by rioters, while nearly 60 persons, including 20 policemen were injured due to stone pelting by miscreants.

The situation further intensified on Monday, which thereby led to a curfew being imposed in the vicinity.

Heavy stone pelting: During the violence, heavy stone-pelting was witnessed from two sides close to a mosque and three motorcycles were also set afire.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Dalsinghsarai, Santosh Kumar, and Inspector-in-charge of Samastipur town Chaturvedi Sudhir Kumar sustained injuries while trying to disperse the rioters, Ranjan said.

8. Several others arrested: 36 people, including two women, have been arrested in Nalanda district where members of two communities had clashed yesterday while a Ram Navami procession was being taken out in Silao block.

According to Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Porika, the arrested persons were among 74 people named in an FIR lodged at Silao police station.

Commercial establishments remained closed in Silao as businessmen feared a fresh flare-up, though the situation has so far remained under control.

9. FIR against union minister’s son: Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey's son Arijit Shashwat on Thursday moved the Patna High Court, seeking quashing of the FIR filed against him in connection with communal clashes in Bihar's Bhagalpur district.

A case against Shashwat was registered on March 19. He filed an anticipatory bail petition two days after a Bhagalpur court issued a warrant of arrest against him in connection with the communal clashes in Nathnagar on March 17. https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/bhagalpur-clash-union-minister-s-son-seeks-quashing-of-fir-118032901024_1.html?1522397624 

Choubey and other local BJP leaders later claimed that the district administration had allowed the rally and had also denied that provocative slogans were shouted.

Choubey was elected from the Buxar Lok Sabha seat in 2014. His son Shashwat had contested the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections from Bhagalpur.

10. Heated exchange in Bihar Assembly: The issue had led to a heated exchange in the Bihar Assembly where the Leader of Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, alleged that for the past several hours, riots had been taking place at Aurangabad and shops belonging to a community were being set afire and curfew had to be imposed.

Yadav made the allegations while state minister Vijender Yadav was reading out the government's reply to the debate on the budgetary allocation for the home department.