An uneasy calm prevailed in Sangareddy town on Friday, the headquarters of Medak district, after Thursday night's communal clashes over an allegedly denigrating photo of a place of worship posted on a social networking website. Though curfew was imposed in parts of the town, the situation remained volatile with agitators congregating in small numbers in various localities. While cops have booked eight cases against unidentified persons for rioting and destruction of public properties, local resident Pavan Mudiraj who posted the alleged photo has been booked under IPC Section 295 (A) (hurting religious sentiments).
The night of mayhem in the town, which was gearing up for massive Ramnavami celebrations headed by Congress MLA Turpu Jayaprakash Reddy this week, resulted in property loss estimated to be around Rs 1.35 crore with over 58 shops/offices, a place of worship and 34 vehicles being damaged in the rioting. Locals, however, disputed the official loss figure, saying that officials excluded small-time businessmen like pan shops and foot path vendors who bore the brunt.
The violence that continued till 5am on Friday erupted around 9.30pm on Thursday after cops refused to take cognizance of a complaint by a group of about 15 people. The group swelled to over 100 soon and during the protest in front of the police station a few cut-outs of Ramnavami were allegedly torn down. This led to retaliatory attacks in Ramnagar and Shivajinagar where shops, autos and houses were damaged. There were sporadic violence between 9am and 10am on Friday too in which 12 cops and 8 others were injured.
According to locals, cops came five hours after the rioting began and in some cases even stopped owners from saving their burning shops. "There was heavy stone pelting in Shivajinagar but the police control room failed to extend help on time," said Srinivas Kulkarni, a private tax consultant.
Another local businessman Syed Munawar said cops had beaten them up when they tried to douse the fire engulfing their shop. "Cops were watching helplessly. And when we tried to extinguish the flames, they beat us up accusing us of being the troublemakers. Grocer B Shabaraiah too pointed out how timely help could have prevented his shop from being gutted. "I stay right above my shop and we could feel the heat when the rioters set it on fire.
Small shop owners complained that though they were hit the hardest, the administration failed to take note. "I have 12 people living on the income from my pan shop. Not even one official came to take stock of my loss. And this is the case with most small-time businessmen," said M A Basith, owner of Asian Pan Shop.
The rioting revealed how ill-prepared the police department is: there were only 12 cops deployed at the district headquarters. There was even no coordination with the fire department. "Fire tenders just 2 km away reached the spot three hours after the riots. It was the fire engines from Jogipet and Narsapur, located 10 km away, which reached the spot first and began work without police protection," said an observer on condition of anonymity.
Residents said that this was the first time that such clashes occurred in the locality. "We have been staying here for the past 20 years. Such clashes had never happened. All communities live here in harmony, in fact a Ganesh idol is placed for pooja every year right in front of the Masjid-e-Noumania, located near Gunj Maidan during Ganesh Chaturthi," said Abdul Majid, caretaker of the mosque, which was damaged in stone pelting.
However, observers pointed out that the area has been communally sensitive since the past many years. "Whenever there are communal clashes elsewhere in the city or the state, this locality is placed under section 144 IPC (unlawful assembly). There is clear-cut segregation right in the heart of the town where residential areas and slums can be identified as belonging to either of the two communities," an observer said.
District collector S Suresh Kumar said he has submitted his preliminary report to the government and the state will have to decide on the amount of compensation on Saturday. "We have constituted four committees headed by the RDO to assess the losses," said Kumar.
Deputy chief minister Damodar Raja Narasimha, home minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, minister J Geeta Reddy and MIM MLA Ahmed Pasha Qadri visited the riot-affected areas.
The night of mayhem in the town, which was gearing up for massive Ramnavami celebrations headed by Congress MLA Turpu Jayaprakash Reddy this week, resulted in property loss estimated to be around Rs 1.35 crore with over 58 shops/offices, a place of worship and 34 vehicles being damaged in the rioting. Locals, however, disputed the official loss figure, saying that officials excluded small-time businessmen like pan shops and foot path vendors who bore the brunt.
The violence that continued till 5am on Friday erupted around 9.30pm on Thursday after cops refused to take cognizance of a complaint by a group of about 15 people. The group swelled to over 100 soon and during the protest in front of the police station a few cut-outs of Ramnavami were allegedly torn down. This led to retaliatory attacks in Ramnagar and Shivajinagar where shops, autos and houses were damaged. There were sporadic violence between 9am and 10am on Friday too in which 12 cops and 8 others were injured.
According to locals, cops came five hours after the rioting began and in some cases even stopped owners from saving their burning shops. "There was heavy stone pelting in Shivajinagar but the police control room failed to extend help on time," said Srinivas Kulkarni, a private tax consultant.
Another local businessman Syed Munawar said cops had beaten them up when they tried to douse the fire engulfing their shop. "Cops were watching helplessly. And when we tried to extinguish the flames, they beat us up accusing us of being the troublemakers. Grocer B Shabaraiah too pointed out how timely help could have prevented his shop from being gutted. "I stay right above my shop and we could feel the heat when the rioters set it on fire.
Small shop owners complained that though they were hit the hardest, the administration failed to take note. "I have 12 people living on the income from my pan shop. Not even one official came to take stock of my loss. And this is the case with most small-time businessmen," said M A Basith, owner of Asian Pan Shop.
The rioting revealed how ill-prepared the police department is: there were only 12 cops deployed at the district headquarters. There was even no coordination with the fire department. "Fire tenders just 2 km away reached the spot three hours after the riots. It was the fire engines from Jogipet and Narsapur, located 10 km away, which reached the spot first and began work without police protection," said an observer on condition of anonymity.
Residents said that this was the first time that such clashes occurred in the locality. "We have been staying here for the past 20 years. Such clashes had never happened. All communities live here in harmony, in fact a Ganesh idol is placed for pooja every year right in front of the Masjid-e-Noumania, located near Gunj Maidan during Ganesh Chaturthi," said Abdul Majid, caretaker of the mosque, which was damaged in stone pelting.
However, observers pointed out that the area has been communally sensitive since the past many years. "Whenever there are communal clashes elsewhere in the city or the state, this locality is placed under section 144 IPC (unlawful assembly). There is clear-cut segregation right in the heart of the town where residential areas and slums can be identified as belonging to either of the two communities," an observer said.
District collector S Suresh Kumar said he has submitted his preliminary report to the government and the state will have to decide on the amount of compensation on Saturday. "We have constituted four committees headed by the RDO to assess the losses," said Kumar.
Deputy chief minister Damodar Raja Narasimha, home minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, minister J Geeta Reddy and MIM MLA Ahmed Pasha Qadri visited the riot-affected areas.
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