A Durga temple was targeted in Jabalpur's Sihora late on Thursday evening while an aarti service was underway, police said. The incident in Sihora's Azad Chowk area left the town tense, after alleged vandalism triggered clashes between two groups, prompting the police to lob tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. The incident happened at 9 pm in Ward No. 5 when the aarti was being performed at the temple. Around the same time, a namaz was being offered at a mosque opposite the shrine. According to police, a youth walked towards the temple and damaged its grill, which led to a brief confrontation at the spot.
Locals said that the youth was assaulted after the alleged act, and members from both sides gathered and pelted stones at each other. The confrontation continued for nearly 10 minutes before the police arrived and contained the situation.
Senior superintendent of police Sampat Upadhyay said that personnel from the Sihora, Khitauli and Gosalpur police stations were immediately dispatched to the area and reinforcements were also sent from Jabalpur to prevent the situation from snowballing.
"Additional forces have been deployed in the area and the situation is now under control. A few tear gas shells were lobbed to control the mob," the officer said.
Police said the situation was brought under control and an investigation into the incident is currently underway.
In a similar incident in Karnataka's Bagalkote, a Shivaji Jayanti procession was interrupted after stones were allegedly hurled at the rally, officials said. The incident occurred on Thursday in the old city when the procession, which began around 3:30 pm, was passing through the mosque area, they said.
Superintendent of Police Siddharth Goyal said adequate forces were deployed for the procession. "We were all present at the spot. The procession began around 3:30 PM (yesterday), As it approached the mosque, two stones were thrown from a distance toward us," he said.
According to the SP, based on preliminary information and videos reviewed by the police so far, one stone struck a police constable while the other fell on his shoulder. "No one sustained any major injuries. After that, the procession continued smoothly, and the atmosphere remained peaceful," Goyal said.
Police said adequate security arrangements have been made in view of the procession and the situation remained under control.
"The area where the incident occurred has been covered with CCTV cameras. We had also recorded the procession. We are reviewing the video footages. Strict action will be taken against those involved in this," he added.
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