Communal tension in Hailakandi, DC Keerthi Jalli orders curfew

Curfew was imposed in Hailakandi on Friday following a scuffle between two communities over offering of Namaz on the road near a mosque at Marwaripatty, which has been “on the edge” for the past few days.

Seats of a large number of bikes were found damaged few days back of Muslim youths, who had gone to a mosque for Namaz prayers at Marwaripatty. The incident resulted in simmering tensions in the area and it was speculated from various quarters that the act was done by Hindus, as Marwaripatty is a Hindu-dominated area. The incident has also been making the rounds on social media.

On Friday, Muslims gathered at the mosque at Marwaripatty in huge numbers for the Namaz prayer. The mosque did not have adequate space to accommodate all the devotees, after which many of them decided to offer prayers on the road near the mosque. A number of youths, from a different community, obstructed them which resulted in a brawl between them.

Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were deployed at the spot. Atleast fifteen rounds were fired blank to bring the situation under control. Most of the shops in the area were closed during the hullabaloo. Many vehicles were damaged and torched. Stones were pelted at many houses.