The provocative sloganeering, false rumours and no police deployment led to communal violence at Mumbai’s Mira Road amid the Ram Mandir consecration.
The violence first erupted following a procession of vehicles including bikes with saffron flags crossed the Ladha Road where Mohammed masjid and Taini villa masjid are situated.
A 52-year-old taxi driver Shaukat Ali, who witnessed the incident said, “The bikers were shouting religious slogans. Some of the bikes had modified silencers which emitted a sound that many felt was like a gun being fired. A few locals rushed to see if bullets were being fired towards the masjid and that led to panic with the bikers trying to escape. One of the bikers bumped into a bystander leading to a fight”.
The incident turned into an intense fight after the locals began assaulting members of the procession. A woman who was part of the procession was also injured in between. “In the heat of things one vehicle which was part of the procession, in a bid to escape, turned into a lane which had a mosque on it. The lane is a dead-end ans locals felt that the people in the car had come with some ulterior motive which again led to violence, ” said the taxi driver.
Another car driver named Vinod Babulal Jaiswal said, “he had come to tour the area. While we have registered a case against those who assaulted him, we are also probing why Jaiswal entered Naya Nagar carrying saffron flags and shouted slogans,” said the police.
A case has been filed over the incident in which many people have been charged for attempt to murder.
The violence engulfed various other parts of the city with mob targeting shops soon after a video of the initial incident went viral on social media.
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