Ram Navami was celebrated with religious fervour across the country on Thursday even as sporadic violence and stone pelting marred the celebrations in some states.
In Maharashtra, at least 12 persons, including 10 policemen, were injured after a mob of around 500 people went berserk and hurled stones and petrol-filled bottles when the cops tried to control the situation following a clash between two groups near a Ram temple in Aurangabad city.
The incident, in which 13 vehicles were torched by the miscreants, occurred during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday in the city's Kiradpura locality. The police used tear gas and fired some plastic bullets as well as live rounds to control the mob.
"It started after two groups, each comprising around five persons, clashed near the Ram temple. After some time, one group left the place and the police soon came to the site. After an hour, a mob gathered there, bringing stones and petrol-filled bottles along, which they threw at the police personnel," Aurangabad Police Commissioner Nikhil Gupta told a TV channel.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shilwant Nandedkar told PTI that an offence has been registered at Jinsi police station against 400 to 500 people.
In Gujarat, stones were hurled at two Ram Navami processions in Vadodara city. While the first incident took place near Panjrigar mohalla in Fatehpura area in the afternoon, the second took place in nearby Kumbharwada in the evening.
According to police, no one was injured in the Fatehpura incident, while some persons including women were wounded in the stone pelting by a mob in Kumbharwada.
"The situation is under control. The incident took place when the procession reached near a mosque and people started gathering at the spot. This is not a communal riot. We dispersed the crowd and the procession also went ahead on its route. All such processions in the city were already given police protection," DCP Jaganiya told reporters.
Vadodara Bajrang Dal president Ketan Trivedi claimed that the stone-pelting was part of a conspiracy. "This procession is targeted almost every year. Despite knowing that, there was no police deployment in this area. Stones were pelted as part of a pre-planned conspiracy," he said.
In West Bengal's Howrah, violence broke out between two groups when the procession was passing through the Kazipara locality. Several vehicles were torched and shops were ransacked.
The police used force to disperse the mob. A large contingent of police was deployed in the locality where the situation is stated to be under control.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the BJP for allegedly trying to stoke communal tension during the Ram Navami procession in Howrah and said those involved in the incident will not be spared.
With PTI inputs
