At least 22 people have been arrested in Gujarat for allegedly throwing stones during a procession in the Fatehpura area of Vadodara. According to the sources, a man was injured in the stone pelting incident that occurred on Thursday on the occasion of Ram Navami.
This was the second such incident on the same day, after stones were thrown during another procession in the Kumbharwada area of Vadodara.
Talking to the media, Manoj Ninama, Joint CP, Vadodara City said, “Area domination and combing operation underway. Around 200 police personnel have been deployed. So far, 22 people have been detained in connection to the incident.”
Talking to the media, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said, “Stones were pelted in Vadodara during the Ram Navami procession. Around 15-17, people have been caught. The accused are being identified with the help of CCTV.”
“The additional force has been sent to Vadodara. Strict action will be taken against stone pelters,” Sanghavi said. Some anti-social elements tried to pelt stones at the Ram Navami procession. Police took prompt action and handled the matter. All the processions have been completed peacefully, Shamsher Singh, Commissioner CP, Vadodara City said.
Some vehicles were damaged and the procession continued along its planned route under police protection, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police Yashpal Jaganiya. According to a local Bajrang Dal leader, despite knowing that such an incident had occurred in the past, police were nowhere to be found when the procession, which is held every year along the same route, was attacked.
Manisha Vakil, a local BJP MLA, was part of the procession that was attacked in Kumbharwada. People can be seen running for shelter during stone pelting in some videos aired by new channels, while a chariot carrying a statue of Lord Ram is also pulled away to a safer place by devotees to save it from stones. According to sources, some of the injured people told reporters that miscreants threw stones at them from the terraces of nearby structures. Stones were thrown at a Ram Navami procession in Fatehpura, which was organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal.