Clash erupts in Bhainsa, 25 held

Two groups clashed and pelted stones at each other at midnight on Sunday after an inebriated man entered a place of worship and created a scene a few hours earlier. A tense situation prevailed till the early hours of Monday in Bhainsa town which had only recently been hit by communal rioting.

Bhainsa police registered four cases against two groups and arrested 25 persons. The incident took place in

Shivajinagar Colony, located on the outskirts of Bhainsa on the Nirmal road. The earlier rioting had taken place in the interior of the town.

Miscreants burnt the seat of a motorbike and damaged the windowpanes of an autorickshaw. Two persons were injured in the clashes. Additional forces have been deployed in Bhainsa.

Nirmal SP Shashidhar Raju said police had imposed ‘corona curfew’ at night in addition to Section 144.

Mr Raju said, “There is not much difference between the curfew and Section 144,” and added that all the shops remained closed except for hospitals and medical shops. The SP said that after the person created a ruckus at about 9.30 pm on Sunday, some locals had tried to stop him. Another group intervened, and this led to a clash between the two groups who pelted stones against each other. Mr Raju said the inebriated man sustained injuries and was shifted to a hospital in Nizamabad and was in a stable condition. Karimnagar Range DIG Pramod Kumar visited Bhainsa as did Adilabad MP Soyam Bapurao.

Home minister Mahmood Ali said the government was closely monitoring a minor incident of stone-pelting between two groups. In a statement issued in Hyderabad, the home minister said he had instructed the Nirmal SP to take effective measures and action as per the law. He said police forces have been deployed in Bhainsa and the situation is under control.