Stone-pelting incidents cause fresh tensions in Dhar

Eleven people have been arrested since Saturday for throwing stones at the RSS office and the residence of a Hindu leader here as well as for setting fire to some vehicles on the town's streets.

Having weathered the tensions over the right to worship at Bhojshala on Friday, the day Hindus celebrated Basant Panchami, the district suffered fresh trouble on Saturday when some people threw stones at the office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the home of Hindu leader Vijay Sangh.

Vijay Singh has been associated with the Bhoj Utsav Samiti which has demanded that the Hindus be allowed to worship at the Bhojshala site for the whole of Friday as Basant Panchami holds special significance for them.

Police have registered two cases, one of rioting and the other of causing damage to property, and arrested 11 people so far, Superintendent of Police Rajesh Hingankar told IANS on Sunday.

Dhar has already been under heavy security as well as prohihitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) banning any gathering of more than 10 people in an area.

The Basant Panchami festival on Friday passed off peacefully as the Bhoj Utsav Samiti moved its special puja outside of the Bhojshala, claiming the administration had stationed plainclothesmen inside and turned the whole place into a virtual garrison.

Bhojshala is a historical site in Dhar district of what was believed to be a Saraswati shrine built by Raja Bhoj, who ruled between circa 1000 and 1055, and the Kamal Maula mosque.