Nirmal: At least 12 persons, including a sub-inspector of police and a constable, were injured when clashes erupted between two groups belonging to different communities in the communally-sensitive Bhainsa, Nirmal district on Sunday night, the police said.
About 100 people involved in the clashes were taken into custody. Heavy security arrangements with 600 police personnel were made in the town to prevent any further violence. Internet services were also shut down in Bhainsa town to prevent the spread of news about communal violence.
“The immediate provocation for the clashes happened in the town’s Zulfiqar Colony. Some youth traveling on their bikes, which were without silencers, were being noisy. Some locals objected to the nuisance in the colonies late in the night when everybody was sleeping. This led to violent attacks between both the groups,” a police official said.
“Stone pelting then followed, which inadvertently landed on a local mosque and temple. It was not intentional,” Bhainsa divisional superintendent of police Narasimha Rao told siasat.com.
The violence soon spread to different areas like Kubir Road, Bhatti Gully, Panjeshah Chowk, Korba Gully, Ganesh Nagar, Medari Gully and bus stand area. Several vehicles including autorickshaws, cars and two-wheelers were set ablaze by the warring groups. There were reports of arson and stone-pelting on some houses and a vegetable shop.
A couple of media persons belonging to vernacular electronic media channels were also reportedly stabbed in the violence. “The injured were immediately shifted to the local government hospital and some of them were moved to Nizamabad and Hyderabad,” the police said.
“The situation is under control now. We have promulgated prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. We request the people not to believe in the rumours, but to cooperate with the police in maintaining law and order,” Nirmal district in-charge superintendent of police Vishnu Warrior said in a statement.
Known for its frequent communal clashes, Bhainsa witnessed two major violent incidents last year as well.
On May 10, 2020, a group of Hindus objected to Muslims offering prayers in a mosque flouting social distancing norms during the COVID-19 lockdown. One person was injured in the clashes and a few vehicles got damaged.
On January 13, 2020, there was large scale violence between the two groups at the Korbagalli area of the town, in which at least 10 people and four policemen were injured. Scores of houses were gutted in arson and several vehicles were burnt in the clashes.