By Abdul Hameed, TwoCircles.net,
Mumbai: The death toll has risen to four in the communal violence that erupted in Pangaon in Latur district of Maharashtra on Friday night. The village has been put under curfew.
According to reports at about 8 pm on Friday night there happened a verbal argument between two groups when a youth from a certain community was answering to his natural call near a place of worship of the majority community. Soon people from both the communities gathered at the spot and erupted a violent communal clash.
Pangaon, located 40 kilometers from central Maharashtra district of Latur, comprises about 400 families with Muslims in minority.
However, Abdul Ghaffar Abdul Hameed of Rainapur tehsil under which falls the village, told TwoCircles.net on phone: “At around 8 pm on Friday, when some Hindu boys were releasing themselves near a Dargah (shrine) some Muslim youths stopped them. It led to argument but the matter settled by the intervention of elder persons. But later around 9 pm a mob of 100-150 Hindus comprising youths, aged persons and children advanced to Noorani Masjid – one of the four mosques in the village – and began pelting stones on.”
Later two Hindus came with weapons around 11:30 pm and a clash began. Two men, Bhaguram Narayan Pedde (55) and his son Balaji Bhaguram Pedde (23) were allegedly stabbed to death, he added.
The police had to be called in and they clamped curfew to control the situation. The rest of the night was calm but the next morning when the relatives of the deceased were going to lodge complaint with police there again erupted a group clash. About five shops and many houses were put on fire allegedly by the Shiv Sainiks. Abdul Ghaffar told that two vehicles of Muslims were also burnt at Saturday noon.
The police resorted to lathicharge and firing in the air to disperse the mob. They arrested reportedly 100 persons from both the communities but with 70-80 among them are Muslims.
In the whole incident four persons were killed and at least 15 persons were injured. Raees Ahmad of Latur town told TCN that the situation is under control but curfew is still on.
The Rainapur tehsil is in the Assembly constituency of senior BJP leader and former minister Gopinath Munde. Latur is also the districts of Congress leaders – former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and former home minister Shiv Raj Patil.
Vilasrao Deshmukh was supposed to visit the village on today but by 2 pm only Gopinath Munde had visited Pangaon.
The state government has not yet announced any compensation for the riot victims.