An uneasy calm: Bhiwandi still remains a smoking gun

The presence of about 800 local police officials, eight companies of the SRP and two companies of Rapid Action Force ensured that the funeral of two Muslim community members killed in police firing on Wednesday in Bhiwandi took place as peacefully as possible. Although there was palpable unease in the congregation of thousands of Muslims at the Sunni Jama Masjid at Koter Gate, the ulema cautioned the community to observe restraint.

In a symbolic gesture, the burial did not take place at the disputed cemetery.

The stand-off between the local Muslim community and the police has its roots in Bhiwandi’s uneasy and violent history, but the current dispute is over the construction of a police station. The Raza Academy and the Kabrastan Committee claim that the land belongs to them. The police claim the land is theirs and point to the urgent need for a police station. The stay on construction was recently lifted by the chief minister.

Activist Neera Adarkar said, “Bhiwandi has been a sensitive town and has seen some really violent situations in the ’80s, but it has been calm for many years. The police should have been little more careful in handling the situation. They should not have been treated it as a law and order or an ego problem, but an issue where sensitivity needed to be shown considering the history of the area.”