JALGAON, 24 April 2008 — Communal riots in Jalgaon district late on Tuesday left three dead. Two of those hit by police bullets died while the third was admitted to hospital in a serious condition. Police said the situation in the area was tense but under control after curfew was imposed to restore calm.
According to police, the riots erupted after Muslims objected to a song by some Hindus in a wedding procession at a Hindu temple. The song, "We will construct the temple at the same place," a reference to the temple at the disputed Babri Mosque site in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, provoked Muslims who asked them to stop singing. Following acerbic exchanges the two groups clashed pelting each other with stones. Police were also pelted with stones.
As the mobs continued to indulge in violence, police called additional reinforcements and after warning shots fired at the mob hitting three people. Sanjay Chaudhary, an auto rickshaw driver and Deepak Mahajan succumbed to injuries, while the third person was admitted to hospital. Thirty people were injured in the clashes.
Tuesday night's riot in Chopda town is a fallout of the communal riot that hit Raver town on April 13, when Hindus during a procession had thrown red powder inside a mosque in Raver, which resulted in violence leaving 50 people injured.
The Jalgaon police requisitioned four battalions of State Reserve Police Force to prevent more violence.
