Abdul Hameed, TwoCircles.net
Mumbai: Normalcy still awaits in the riot-hit Pusad in Maharashtra as curfew continues to be clamped and the situation remains tense.
Hafiz Nadeem, secretary general of Jamiat-e-Ulama Maharashtra who have been camping near Pusad, told TwoCircles.net on phone, ‘Though no causality has been reported today (April 6) neither from Pusad nor its neighboring villages, fear prevails among people. Today there was no relaxation in curfew and a huge number of security officers are patrolling the area.’
On April 3, a verbal duel between two groups over the alleged “Mandir Waheen Banayen Ge” (We will build the temple there) CD being played had turned into communal clash which by the passage of time intensified. The police had to clamp curfew to put situation under control and they were ordered to shoot at sight.
Yesterday (April 5), the riots spread to the rural areas of Pusad and some villages witnessed unpleasant accidents of assault and arson while owing to the strict curfew in Pusad nothing horrible could occur. Some elements tried to attack Madrasa Ashab-e-Suffa in the town but the combined restriction from Hindus and Muslims foiled it. But the nearby villages which did not have security at the time were easy targets by rioters.
An elderly couple; Zamir khan (65) and wife Raziya (60) of the Pokhri village in Pusad tehsil were charred to death in their house outside in a farm. The police did not relate the incident to the riots.
Reportedly the miscreants attacked the drivers with beard who were on the wheel at the high way of the Pusad. Seeing the enormity of the situation huge security was deployed in the nearby villages and at the roads too and they still are there.
The nearby Pardi and Amarpun villages too were target of the rioters on April 5. The imam and muazzin of Amarpun village are said to be disappearing.
‘The police have so far arrested nearly 50 persons from both the communities. At least 50 people have been injured and four killed in the riots. However, the situation is coming back to normal,’ told Nadeem.