Madhya Pradesh: Nine arrested after communal clashes in Guna

The Madhya Pradesh Police have arrested nine persons in connection with communal clashes that took place during the Hindu festival of Hanuman Jayanti in the state’s Guna district a day earlier, The Hindu reported on Sunday.

The incident occurred at around 7.45 pm on Saturday in the Colonelganj area in Guna city when a procession organised for the festival was passing in front of a mosque, PTI quoted Guna Collector Kishore Kanyal said.

An altercation broke out between members of the Hindu and Muslim communities that resulted in stones being thrown, according to The Hindu. Maan Singh Thakur, additional superintendent of police in Guna, said that 13 persons suffered minor injuries in the clashes.

There was no permission to carry out the procession in that area, the collector said.

“The organisers had given information about it [the procession] on April 7 but they did not take formal permission from the local administration,” The Hindu also quoted Thakur as saying.

However, Ranjeet Khatik, one of the organisers of the procession, claimed that he had proof that the necessary permission was taken, PTI reported. He alleged that stones were thrown when a few boys shouted “Jai Shri Ram”, while the other group, in response, chanted “Allah hu Akbar”.

Police received information about the violence at around 7.45 pm on Saturday and went...

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