Communal tension prevailed in Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, on Monday night after reports of clashes between two communities came in.
There were reports of Hindu-Muslim clashes in Peergate/Hamidia road locality in the evening, when Muslims were preparing for their special Ramadan prayers, taraweeh.
Police, however, claimed that the situation was brought under control in no time.
Speaking to Janta Ka Reporter, Bhopal’s Inspector General of Police, Yogesh Chaudhary, said that it was a minor scuffle and his forces had acted swiftly to stop the situation going out of control.
“It was a minor scuffle and we’ve now brought the situation under our control,” Chaudhary said.
Chaudhary said that he will be able to speak in detail later as he needed to pay attention to the prevailing law and order of the affected area.
#Bhopal
Trouble between hindu and muslim
Hindu log jai jai shree ram ke nare lagate huye pic.twitter.com/ZkKzo2MmgD— nitesh nagar (@niteshnagar12) May 30, 2017
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took to Twitter to calm people’s fear.
In a series of tweets, Chouhan said, “I urge the people of my beloved #Bhopal to maintain peace and harmony. Don’t believe or spread rumours. Things are under control. Urge citizens to cooperate with Police and authorities. Madhya Pradesh is an island of peace and we will make sure that it remains peaceful. My fellow citizens of #Bhopal, please don’t panic and don’t get provoked by rumours. For any situation, please dial 100.”
I urge the people of my beloved #Bhopal to maintain peace and harmony. Don't believe or spread rumours. Things are under control.
— ShivrajSingh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) May 30, 2017
Bhopal has been a hotbed of communal tension since the local police killed eight suspected SIMI under trials in an alleged fake encounter in October last year.
The encounter was mired in controversy with opposition Congress and other parties raising doubts over its genuineness after surfacing of a video clip and audio tapes that questioned the police version.