A total of 10 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal have been sent to Bihar following the recent clash in the state that erupted in several parts of the state after Ram Navami processions.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a two-day visit to Bihar, days after communal tension in Bihar over Ram Navami processions said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would deal sternly with the rioters if it comes to power in 2025.
Palm Sunday was well celebrated in churches on Rameswaram Island. The devotees gathered to partake in the festival in a traditional manner and carry cut palm leaves in their hands during the processions.
Amid the political furore, the Mamata Banerjee government on Friday handed over the probe into Howrah violence to Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Over 20 people were arrested after a clash broke out between two groups following a Ram Navami procession, a police official said on Saturday. The police and security personnel are deployed and patrolling the district in wake of the clash.
"Stone pelting happened during Ram Navami's procession in Howrah. Instead of delivering justice Mamata Bandopadhyay (Banerjee) gave a clean chit to stone pelters who took the law into their hands and attacked the Shobha Yatra of Ram Navami," Irani said.
The incident occurred at Beleshwar Jhulelal Mahadev Temple around 11am on Thursday during a Havan puja going on in view of the Ram Navami festival. Soon after the incident, the rescue operation began and it continued for around 24 hours till Friday afternoon.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken to West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and taken stock of the situation in the state where violence broke out between two groups when a Ram Navami procession was taken out in Howrah city on Thursday evening, top sources said on Friday.
Former union minister and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Friday said that the people involved in a criminal conspiracy like instigating violence to break the fabric of the country's harmony should not be given any protection by the governments.
Organiser of the Shobha Yatra in West Bengal's Howrah and Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Inderdev Dubey on Friday claimed that they did not deviate from the approved route and had sought permission from the authorities.
Reacting to the violent clash that broke out between two groups during the 'Ram Navami' Shobha Yatra, Maharashtra minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said that the procession was taken out after permission from the police and such an incident is unfortunate.
As many as 20 people were detained after a scuffle occurred on Thursday between two groups during the 'Rama Navami' Shobha Yatra in Malad's Malvani area, informed police officials on Friday.