On Tuesday, 17th September, massive chaos erupted in Kheda, Gujarat after a Ganesha Visharan procession was almost attacked by a Muslim mob of around 150-200 Muslims. The Hindu participants of the procession were confronted with sticks and pipes as the procession passed by the mosque. As per the local reports, an argument initially erupted over the DJ music played in the procession. The Muslim mob happened to protest against the DJ sound before confronting the participants over the issue.
The Police arrived at the spot and immediately took control of the situation. 11 people have been arrested in the case and several others have been booked. Notably, all the accused persons are believed to be belonging to the Muslim community.
According to the information received, the Ganesh Visharan procession took place on Tuesday, September 17th in the villages of the Kheda district. The Hindu participants played a DJ system. A little further away, when a DJ arrived near the Jama Masjid in the bazaar, some fanatical Muslims became agitated and started clamouring for a DJ to be played near the mosque. After this, the accused Muslims launched an attack on the procession using pipes and sticks.
Vaso police and senior officials responded swiftly after the crime was reported. The district police head and DySP also hurried to the scene. Before the incident escalated into a fight, the cops intervened. However, a considerable crowd had assembled at the spot. MLA Kalpesh Parmar also hurried to the scene as soon as the incident was reported.
11 Muslim accused arrested
Regarding this incident, an officer at the Vaso police station told OpIndia that there was a dispute over the DJ playing near the mosque. However, the police took control of the situation before any fights or assaults took place. But there was some friction, as per the police. He further said that a case has been registered against the accused under various sections of BNS (Indian Judicial Code) and 11 accused have also been arrested. He also said that all these accused belong to the Muslim community and they rushed to the spot with smoking pipes. Police have said that further investigation is going on in this matter.
Kheda district police chief Rajesh Garhia also spoke to the media that there was a clash over a DJ playing near the mosque in Vaso. But the police presence was also there and more police teams had also arrived, so the matter was settled on both sides. He further said that a case has been registered against 10-12 accused by the organizer of Ganesh Mandal whose procession was attacked on Tuesday. Among them, 11 Muslim accused have been arrested.
This report was first published on OpIndia. It can be accessed here.
