As violent fights broke out in at least eight states during a Hindu religious holiday on Sunday, authorities sent in hundreds of riot police and shut down mobile internet in several areas of eastern India.
During clashes in the town of Biharsharif between a majority of Hindus and a minority of Muslims, police reported that one person was shot and killed on Saturday in the Nalanda district of Bihar state.
This occurred the day after violent public Ram Navami festivities, during which crowds engaged in running fights and set fire to residences and businesses.
Hindu festivities sometimes involve large crowds of people provocatively parading through Muslim neighbourhoods as loud sound systems pulse with devotional music, occasionally displaying swords, weapons, and tridents.
Shibli Nomani, the head of the Biharsharif police department, stated that about 100 individuals had been detained as a result of the violence that broke out on Thursday when hundreds of Hindus took to the streets and marched through Muslim-dominated districts.
He told AFP that the situation was under control and that the unrest was being looked into. “We are scanning the area and making sure no gatherings are permitted,” he said.
Similar communal outbursts were recorded in two other Bihar cities, where authorities restricted public mobility and suspended mobile internet connections in some locations.
Six people were hurt in an explosion inside a home where two guys were apparently building a bomb in Rohtas, another violent region where police detained scores.
According to a tweet from the Bihar Police, the explosion did not initially seem to be connected to the ongoing turmoil. There are occasions when local mining operations employ homemade explosives.
During the Hindu holiday on Thursday, sectarian violence also affected seven other states, leaving scores injured and hundreds detained in at least 13 towns and cities.
These include the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and the Howrah area of West Bengal, where crowds went on the rampage on Thursday and set stores and vehicles on fire.
The violence was allegedly planned by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, according to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Her targeting of Hindus was alleged by the BJP.
On Thursday, riots were recorded in Vadodara and Aurangabad in the western province of Maharashtra, while similar violence was reported in Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
Opponents claim that since Modi was elected prime minister in 2014—and was the chief minister of Gujarat state during massive riots there in 2002—hardline Hindu organisations have gained confidence.
Similar conflicts on Ram Navami were recorded in a number of locations the previous year, including New Delhi and Jharkhand in eastern India, where one person was murdered.
