Stone pelting at mosques and dancing with swords to communally charged songs repeated on Thursday, 30 March, during Ram Navami processions leaving dozens injured.
Although reports suggest the violence didn’t escalate like last year, clashes and hate crimes were reported in several states including, Bihar and Maharashtra.
In the early hours of March 30, clashes were reported from Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, previously known as Aurangabad, leaving 12 people, including 10 policemen, injured.
The trigger for the sudden violence is allegedly due to some miscreants playing loud music outside a mosque in Kiradpura. Fake claims that the famous Ram temple was under attack were busted by AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel.
In videos circulating on social media, Jaleel said the Ram Temple is safe and appealed for peace.
“No Hindu inside the Ram Temple was hurt. The temple is completely safe. Please do not believe in fake news or videos. I also want the police to take stern action. We do not want an atmosphere of hate because of a few communal forces,” Jaleel said in a viral video from the temple shared on social media.
Four people have been detained in the matter, according to reports.
In another incident, a video of an apparent Hindu man waving a saffron flag and shouting “Jai Shri Ram” in the presence of policemen in Maharashtra’s Haji Abdulreham Malang Shah Darga also triggered outrage.
Meanwhile, the Navami procession led by suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh, a serial hate-monger, in Hyderabad had a portrait of Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse on displayed during the yatra.
Several people taking part in the ‘Shobha Yatra’ were seen carrying a picture of Godse.
Ram Navami procession is taken out by Hindu groups in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri without police permission, leaving police and the Muslim community on high alert.
Several visuals from the Sobha Yatra in Gujarat’s Vadodara caught Hindu men pelting stones at a mosque. Police claim they intervened swiftly and pacified the situation. 20 people have been detained, said the police.
In West Bengal’s Howrah district, eight vehicles were torched during communal violence during the rally. Around 10 people, including two policemen, were injured. The violence broke out when the procession was crossing the Kazipara locality. Several shops were also ransacked, according to reports.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assured strict action against the culprits. She accused BJP of hiring goons from other states to orchestrate communal riots in Bengal.
A video of a saffron rally in Jammu city, caught Hindus pledging to make this country a Hindu nation. Another video from Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura shows Hindu men climbing the city’s Jama Masjid and waving the saffron flag.