A journalist in Mumbai has refused to take down videos of a Ram Navami procession that featured participants shouting profanities and making threats against Muslims. The journalist, Kunal Purohit, has asserted that he is only "documenting hate." Mumbai police have registered an FIR against three individuals for using a loudspeaker to play obscene songs during the procession.
The bulldozer, part of the procession organised by the Adarsh Ramlila Committee, was on Monday stopped by police who termed its participation unauthorised and a new tradition.
The incident comes on the day Ram Navami processions were being taken out in many parts of Prayagraj.
Temples across Uttar Pradesh were packed with devotees on Sunday for Ram Navami, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leading prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple. Heavy crowds were witnessed at temples in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi, where security was heightened. In Gorakhpur, Adityanath performed the traditional kanya pujan ritual, while in Varanasi, a 51-foot statue of Lord Ram has become a major attraction. The festival was celebrated with enthusiastic fervor across the state.
Stones were allegedly pelted during a religious procession in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district, triggering tension in the area. The incident occurred near Jama Masjid Chowk around 11 pm on Tuesday when a Mangla procession was underway as part of the Ram Navami celebration. Police resorted to firing in the air to bring the situation under control. The exact reason for the stone-throwing is yet to be ascertained, but locals say a dispute arose between two groups over the playing of communal songs.
Ram Navami was celebrated on Thursday with fervour across the country, with processions taken out in different states.
A beam of sunlight fell directly on Ram Lalla's idol at the new temple in Ayodhya on noon Wednesday, marking the 'Surya Tilak' of the idol on the first Ram Navami since its consecration.
This would be the first Ram Navami since the consecration of the Ram idol at the new temple, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22. The system was tested by the scientists on Tuesday.
Civic authorities have started a demolition drive against illegal structures in Gujarat's Himmatnagar city, where a communal clash had broken out during the Ram Navami celebration earlier this month, officials said on Tuesday.
The state government will help all those whose properties were vandalised in the clashes, she said.
Members of two communities hurled stones at each other when a Ram Navami procession reached Chhapariya locality in Himmatnagar city in the Sabarkantha district in the late afternoon, a police official said.
Sunday's yatra proved that it needs both the maturity of locals as well as the police doing their duty, to ensure that a religious procession doesn't turn ugly.
India's strong reaction came after the OIC secretariat issued a statement alleging targeting of the Muslim community in several states in India during Ram Navami processions.
Clashes broke out between two groups during a Ram Navami procession in West Bengal's Hooghly district on Sunday evening, police said.
The Union home ministry on Tuesday sought a detailed report from the West Bengal government on the violence during Ram Navami in Howrah, sources said.
During the clash between the two groups, stones were hurled, which triggered panic in the area. Additional police force was called in and the police personnel used force to disperse the crowd, the official said.
A total of nine people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in violence and stone-pelting during the procession.
While the saffron camp questioned the administrative capabilities of the Mamata Banerjee-led state government, the Trinamool Congress claimed that BJP leaders "behaved like good boys" this time.
One person was killed and another one injured in a communal clash in Khambhat city of Gujarat during a procession taken out on the occasion of Ram Navami on Sunday, while Himmatnagar city in the state also witnessed violence between members of two communities during a similar event, police said.
Altogether 77 people have been arrested in connection with the communal violence that erupted in Bihar Sharif town in Nalanda district during the Ram Navami festivities, police said on Sunday.
Internet connections remained suspended even as prohibitory order under CrPC Section 144 was still in place in and around the area where several shops and residences were vandalised during the clashes, he said.
Posters announcing plans for an Ayodhya-style Ram temple complex in Salt Lake have appeared, escalating the political duel between religious groups ahead of the Bengal assembly polls. The proposed complex includes a school, hospital, and old-age home.
A house constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) on government land was demolished in Khargone city of Madhya Pradesh following violence on Ram Navami.
Khargone Collector Anugraha P has been transferred as officer on special duty at the Madhya Pradesh Bhawan in New Delhi.
Anand district superintendent of police Ajit Rajian had earlier said that communal violence in Khambhat town was a 'pre-planned conspiracy' hatched by a 'sleeper module' to achieve the dominance of the Muslim community in the town.
The Madhya Pradesh government has constituted a two-member claims tribunal to recover damages from those involved in communal violence during the Ram Navami celebrations in Khargone city, an official said on Wednesday.
Internet services have been suspended in Lohardaga town and prohibitory orders under Section 144 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) clamped on the entire district, Sub-divisional Officer (SDO) Arbind Kumar Lal stated.
More than 20 persons have so far been arrested in connection with the incident which took place in Malvani area of Malad on March 30.
Eleven people died during a havan at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Madhya Pradesh's Indore after they fell into a well as its cover caved-in under the weight of a huge crowd, while three others got fatally electrocuted during a Ram Navami procession in Rajasthan's Kota.
Hindustani surrendered before the police in Una on Sunday morning following which she was arrested and produced before a court which remanded her in judicial custody, a police officer said.
Stones were hurled at a Ram Navami procession in Fatehpura area of Gujarat's Vadodara city on Thursday, police said.
Ram Navami, the birth anniversary of Lord Ram, was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety across Mumbai. Thousands thronged temples in the morning and kirtans and classical dances were organisd to pay obeisance.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed the director general of police to instruct all the superintendents of police to take strong action against those who carried arms in the rallies.
The court directed the state police to transfer all records and CCTV footage relating to the matter to the central government within two weeks.
Police officials conceded that Shahbaz, the accused, was in fact in prison on April 10, but justified the demolition claiming he was a 'listed criminal of the area'.
The state police also advised people not to believe in rumours.
The Delhi police on Monday registered an FIR against unknown ABVP students based on the complaint received from a group of students in connection with a clash in JNU campus over non-vegetarian food, officials said.
Curfew was clamped in the entire Khargone city of Madhya Pradesh and 77 people were arrested after stones hurled at a Ram Navami procession triggered arson, officials said on Monday.
However, no fresh incident of violence was reported from the area since Wednesday night, the police said adding that the situation was 'under control'.
While the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) alleged that the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members stopped students from eating non-vegetarian food in the hostel and 'created a violent atmosphere', the ABVP denied the charge and claimed that 'Leftists' obstructed a puja programme organised at the hostel on Ram Navami festival.
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