At least 20 vehicles set on fire in Fatehpura area in Vadodara following communal tension on the first day of Navratri on Thursday. The police had to burst teargas shell to control the situation.
Sources in the Vadodara police said that the rioting between the two communities was caused by personal feuds between two group leaders but the immediate provocation was a minor accident between two two-wheelers driven by the members of the different communities.
According to the sources a photograph circulated on the social media since morning allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of both the communities was also believed to have contributed in building up the tension.
As the message pertaining to social media sites spread like a wildfire, soon the members of both the communities gathered in large numbers and started pelting stones on each other and indulged in arson. About 20 vehicles on the road were set afire by the clashing mobs which also attempted to loot a few shops forcing the shop owners to quickly down the shutters.
In order to control the situation burst about a dozen teargas shells to disperse and quell the mobs. Besides the city police, rapid action force and state reserve police personnel were also deployed in the area to maintain the law and order. The police claimed that peace returned in the area late in the evening and the life was completely normal. However large numbers of police personnel were deployed as part of maintaining the riot-affected areas in view of the Navratri festivals beginning from Thursday night. The State administration has already alerted police in wake of a controversy over entry of Muslims in the Garba venues. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and some other Hindu organisations demanding ban on the entry of the Muslim youths in the Garba venues.
On the other hand, Sufi religious leader of Thasra in Anand district Imam Mehndi Hassan linked the Navratri with the “festivities of the demons”. Following his statement Imam was arrested and sent to judicial custody.