Communal clash breaks out in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district; shops and vehicles vandalised

Shops and vehicles were vandalised as tensions flared up in Jabalpur`s Sihora district. PIC/X

Tension gripped Sihora town in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district as members of two communities clashed. The groups indulged in stone-pelting and damaged shops and vehicles in the area. The ruckus in Sihora forced the police to fire several teargas shells to bring the situation under control, news agency PTI reported.

Speaking about the incident, a police officer said, "The incident occurred in the Azad Chowk area of the town on Thursday night, after which a heavy police force was deployed there."

Eyewitnesses said that a temple of Goddess Durga and a mosque are located close to each other in the Azad Chowk area. When the 'aarti' was underway at the temple, members of both communities clashed over the damaged safety grill of the temple, reported PTI.

They further added that the altercation soon escalated into a violent confrontation, following which both the sides began pelting stones at each other. They also vandalised shops and vehicles parked on the road.

The police officer further stated that they initially used mild force, but when there were no signs of the clash ceasing, they fired teargas shells to bring the situation under control.

Senior officials from the police and the administration later visited the spot to take stock of the situation, he said.

Situation in Sihora now under control, says collector

District Collector Raghavendra Singh said the situation is completely under control now.

"Members of two communities clashed and indulged in vandalism. In order to bring the situation under control, the police had to fire eight to ten teargas shells," said Superintendent of Police (SP) Sampat Upadhyay.

Additional SP Jabalpur Suryakant Sharma, while speaking to the media on Friday, stated, "Whoever takes the law into their own hands will not be spared; everyone will be made to face action. " If someone starts overturning a cart, we will stop them using force and drive them away so that peace is maintained."

While the situation now seems under control, police authorities across the district remain vigilant to ensure that law and order are maintained across the city.

(With inputs from PTI and IANS)