The Telangana State police on Tuesday has disclosed that the right-wing extremist organisation Hindu Vahini had triggered the March 7 communal riots in Bhainsa. The clashes were instigated by two men named Thota Mahesh and Dattu Patel, members of the radical Hindutva group.
Violence broke out in Bhainsa town on March 7, in which 12 persons including three police officers were injured. Four houses, 13 shops, four autorickshaws, six four-wheelers and five two-wheelers were set on fire. Police said that the violence on the following days was the handiwork of Hindu Vahini District president Santosh, who has been arrested.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Y Nagi Reddy, inspector general of police (north zone), said that on the day of the incident, at 8.20 pm, Dattu Patel and Thota Mahesh who were riding a bike deliberately picked a fight by hitting a person identified as Rizwan while he was walking on a road along with his friends near Zulfiqar mosque in the town.
Later, when Rizwan along with his friends went searching for the duo, members of the Hindu Vahini attacked them. Further, Dattu Patel went again near Zulfiqar mosque and picked up a fight, leading to stone pelting between two religious groups, police said in its press release.
This minor incident was turned into a communal flare-up by the members of the Hindu Vahini and spread to the entire town when two counsellors– Abdul Khabeer from the AIMIM and Thota Vijay, an ex-member of Hindu Vahini– each gathering crowds and engaging in arson, police said.
The police’s statements comes in the wake of the threats of BJP Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind.
“The police works under the pressure of the TRS and AIMIM. In a few days, the BJP will have to show its strength by holding a meeting. The Hindu society from all the parts of the state will congregate at Bhainsa. In the coming days, there will be more law and order problems. So you immediately change your attitude.”
“The police have identified and arrested 150 Hindu group members. This has to stop at once. Else, in the coming days, when the Hindu society unitedly unleashes itself, the police will have to face the brunt of it. Don’t lead to such a situation,” the controversial MP had threatened.
A curfew has been imposed in Bhainsa since the March 7 violence and the internet continues to be suspended. Police, however, have relaxed the curfew timings to four hours.
