Fighting broke out between two communities on Monday night following gambling on a game of carrom.
On Monday night at 10:30 pm when a group of Hindus and Muslims was gambling on a game of carrom at Ramesh Chowk in Nagoriwad in Shahpur, a controversy broke out over the win - or loss - during play. This led to heated arguments between the rival 'teams' and then to fisticuffs. In no time, hundreds of people began to fight with each other. The scuffle became more and more aggressive and finally the police had to intervene to put a halt to the brawl. In fact they had to lob 21 rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the frenzied mob and restore peace in the area.
However, on Tuesday morning, there was no indication of the nightmarish Monday night which had stirred the passions of the residents so much. Except for the littered roads, it was business as usual, with people and stray animals bustling about. It seemed that nothing had happened in the locality the night before.
Shahpur has been the flash point for communal violence for many years. The residents of the place have been living on the fringes where even a mild debate between Hindus and Muslims could lead to violent clashes.
At 11:30am on Tuesday a group of Shahpur police officials, along with state intelligence officials, were found taking stock of the situation from eyewitnesses and locals. "This area (Nagoriwad) is known for being communally sensitive,' commented a police official when asked to describe what exactly had happened.
Ramesh Chowk is a closely-knit society of both Hindus and Muslims where people of both the communities are mostly poor who eke out a hand-to-mouth existence. The Hindus, comprising mostly Waghris, are mostly daily labourers who are addicted to drinking country-made liquor every evening and gambling. The condition of the Muslims is as bad.
"Because of the sheer negligence of the authorities the area has become a den of liquor making and gambling activities. Kaushik Jain, the local municipal councillor and MLA Gayasuddin Shaikh both didn't even care to visit the area during or after the riots. Although Jain was spotted close to the affected area on Monday, he didn't dare to come close," said a Muslim resident.
The situation in Nagoriwad and its surrounding areas has worsened over the years. Many residents claim that the women are taking to various illicit trades. They say that young girls are making their way to 'beauty parlours' where their dignity is allegedly stained. With no education, job opportunity or money in hand, the situation there is deteriorating.
This was the probably the fourth incident of communal clashes in Shahpur this year. In the latest occurrence, the cops named 16 people from both the communities as rioters and a hunt to arrest them is under way.
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