Prohibitory orders banning large gatherings has been declared in Jharkhand's Pakur.
Five persons have been arrested in over clashes between the locals and the police in at Maheshpur in Pakur district during Eid yesterday, Jharkhand police have said. At least 15 people were injured -- two of them critically -- when the police opened fire after clashes with a mob over animal slaughter.
The situation this morning is tense but under control, the police said. A huge number of policemen have been stationed in the area and prohibitory orders banning large gatherings, imposed last night, are still in force. The cases filed are over the attack on the police, animal slaughter and under the Arms Act.
Trouble started around 11.30 am when police acted on a tip off about animal sacrifice in public on the occasion of Eid and rushed to Daangapara village, less than 2 km from the Maheshpur police station, to stop it.
Cow slaughter is banned in Jharkhand and public slaughter of animals for Eid is banned.
In the clash that followed, several policemen were injured as well. The officer in charge of the Maheshpur police station had to be rushed to Ranchi with knife wounds and at least half a dozen others were admitted to the district hospital.
Many of the injured were driven across the Bengal border and brought to Rampurhat government hospital in Birbhum district 45 km away, according to Jharkhand police. At least 7 are believed to have bullet injuries.
While the police action worked, it was temporary. According to some villagers who came to Rampurhat with injured relatives, hundreds of people gathered and marched to the police station around 4 pm.
Reinforcements rushed in from nearby police stations. But confronted by a huge number of people throwing stones, the police used lathis, teargas and finally fired in the air.
In Bengal, meanwhile, with more than two dozen injured villagers arriving at the Rampurhat hospital, tension gripped the area. To diffuse it, hospital authorities referred the injured to Burdwan hospital nearly 120 km away.
Among the injured at the Rampurhat hospital were people ostensibly from Bengal. One youth who was at the hospital, said many people had "just gone to see what was happening at Maheshpur, when the police simply opened fire."