The curfew imposed in Lohardaga district entered its seventh day on Thursday. All educational institutions, businesses and banks remained closed during the week. However, no incidents of clashes were reported from the district since January 23, when stone pelting on a rally taken out in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and subsequent arson led to the enforcement of curfew, police said.
The district administration on Thursday gave six hours of relaxation to Lohardaga residents from the restrictions under the curfew, said Inspector General (Operations), Saket Kumar Singh.
“The situation is under control in the district, but we are taking preventive measures to ensure no clashes happen here on,” Singh added.
Later in the day, he said that all block level Government offices may open soon. A call on resuming classes at schools and colleges will be taken on Saturday, he added.
The police have made at least 97 residents of the district sign bonds admitting that they will never resort to violence. Besides, at least 26 people have been detained in connection with the violence.
The police was yet to take a call on the arrangements for Saraswati idol immersion by the time this report was filed.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sajid Zafar deployed on special duty in the curfew-clamped district said that the situation was still tensed in some parts of the district.
“Sufficient number of security personnel has been deployed across the district since the imposition of curfew here. The situation was tensed after the clashes and we had to stretch the curfew period in order to avoid a snowballing effect,” he said.
The police also organised meetings of peace committees on Thursday and urged representatives of different communities to spread the message of harmony and peace. On Thursday, the curfew was relieved for three hours twice – from 9am to 12pm and from 2pm to 5pm, the DSP, who refused to be named, said. “We will gradually increase the relaxation period and eventually the curfew will be lifted,” he added.
During the relaxation on Thursday, residents were allowed to move out of their houses and purchase food and other necessary items, police said.
The shops were allowed to open only during the relaxation hours. However, Government as well as private schools have remained closed in the districts since January 24.
Various right wing organizations, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and some wings of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had taken out the rally in support of the CAA last week in Lohardaga town, about 80 Kilometers west of capital Ranchi. The peaceful rally reportedly turned hostile after stones were pelted by anti-CAA protestors and some locals at Amlatoli Chowk, police said.
Lohardaga is the first district in Jharkhand where clashes over the nationwide unrest related to the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC) have been reported. According to the official website of the Government of Jharkhand, Lohardaga is one of the poorest districts of Jharkhand. It is predominantly rural, with heavy dependence on agriculture and low industrial investments. There are a total of seven blocks – Bhandra, Kisko, Lohardaga,Kuru,Kairo,Peshrar and Senna – in Lohardaga district.
