Curfew Imposed in Aurangabad After Communal Clashes During Ram Navami procession
Prohibitory orders were today clamped in Aurangabad town following a clash between members of two communities during Ram Navami celebrations.
Local reports claimed that rioters set ablaze around 50 shops near Jama Masjid on old GT Road and more than 60 people were injured in the heavy stone-pelting. Several people had allegedly thrown stones at Ram Navami procession participants in Nawadih.
“We have clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC. The situation in the town is tense but under control,” Aurangabad District Magistrate Rahul Ranjan Mahiwal said.
The issue led to a heated exchange in the Bihar assembly where the leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav made the allegations about the clashes while state minister Vijender Yadav was reading out the government’s reply to the debate on the budgetary allocation for the home department.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar rose to intervene and said the floor of the house must not be used to give publicity to rumours which could aggravate communal tensions. Kumar said Ram Navami had passed off peacefully in Bihar “with a few exceptions”.
“We all, including the DGP and the Home Secretary, are talking to the people concerned. Senior officials have been rushed to the spot to keep things under control”, he said, adding “No one will be spared”.
