Khanwa on the outskirts of Daltonganj is at peace. Sources said on Wednesday the two communities living here over decades all of a sudden were swayed by a sense of distrust and doubt and looked more assertive in the shape of becoming more and more belligerent putting communal harmony there at serious peril.
SP Palamu Patel Mayur K lal said ‘ It was really a tough day for us. Precious hours were consumed there for harmony and amity. The two sides had told the police that all would be well there but today they just forgot what they had assured the police and so the police acted fast there the result of which was that harmony remained intact’.
Mayur said the immersion was delayed as a result the Milan of tazias too came on the scene but with co operation of the saner elements there in both the communities things remained under the thumb of the police and magistracy.
DSP Prabhat Ranjan Barwar leading the squad of security forces said ‘ The police acted with utmost restraint only to give peace and harmony there to give both the communities there to understand and realize what if the peace is shattered as the ground situation was such that to rule out the worst would not come would have been nothing but a wishful thinking.
Barwar said he held a meeting of Durga Puja samiti and Muharram Inteezamiya committee members together on Wednesday in which the police administration gave an offer to the minority community to re create Milan of the Tazias which was done earlier in a notional and ritualistic manner for harmony to which Barwar added the minority community appreciated the offer of the police but declined this on the ground that Muharram processionists of the nearby Paton block would not be joining them again as these processionists are tired and exhausted since they are to negotiate river Amanat and huge span of sand also which is very awesome. However Barwar said there would be no let up in security and vigil there as police are on high alert. Barwar had a point when he said the members of these two committees showed no malice towards each other.