Chief minister Hemant Soren called the violence unfortunate and worrying and urged residents to exercise restraint. “I urge everyone to refrain from anything that is tantamount to crime,” he said.
Ranchi: Prohibitory orders were clamped in Ranchi and internet services were blacked out in various parts of the state capital on Friday evening after a protest march in support of a Bandh call to protest the controversial statement of axed BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma turned violent in the afternoon and left 16 people, including police men, injured.
Earlier in the day, a local Islamic outfit had given a bandh call to protest Sharma’s comments on Prophet Mohammad and had announced to hit the streets demanding her arrest. They had also urged local businessmen to shut their shops to lend support to the call.
Also Read: Clashes break out in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri over stone-pelting on Mahavir Jayanti procession
Violence erupted in Ranchi’s busy Mahatma Gandhi Marg after a 500 member strong entourage, which hit the streets after offering Friday prayers in Ekra Mosque, clashed with policemen which tried to block their advance towards the Firayalal Chowk roundabout citing disruptions to vehicular movement.
The vandals, which the police and bystanders claimed were 1,500 in number, pelted stones at the cops, smashed windshields of vehicles and smashed window panes of two temples along the road before a large police contingent resorted to lathi-charge and fired rubber bullets to disperse the mob. In their retreat, the vandals torched a street cart which sold Puja items.
Ranchi city SP Anshuman Kumar and the officers in charge of Lower Bazar and Kotwali police stations were injured in the clashes along with several commuters, passersby, businessmen and journalists. “The injured were taken to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences for treatment,” Ranchi administration said in a statement.
Chief minister Hemant Soren called the violence unfortunate and worrying and urged residents to exercise restraint. “I urge everyone to refrain from anything that is tantamount to crime,” he said.
The opposition BJP however strongly criticized the violence. In a tweet, former Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das advised Soren to set “vote bank politics aside” and initiate strong action against the anti-social elements. “If strong action is not taken, many such incidents would occur in future,” Das wrote.
