Stone pelting on Ganesh Pandal: Hindus stage unique protest by marching out of village

Jaipur: In what could be described as a silent protest against a recent incident of stone pelting on a Ganesh Pandal, people in Bhilwara’s Sanganer town marched out of their villages after tying black ribbons to their doors.

They gathered in a nearby place called Kali Mangri which is a Dev Sthan two kms from the village.

It needs to be mentioned here that a few youths reportedly pelted stones at a Ganesh Pandal two days ago.

In order to make their anger felt in a peaceful manner, people of the Hindu community left their villages as a mark of protest on the day when Muslims observed Barawafat.

Hence, the Barawafat procession was taken out amid closed markets and silence in Sanganer and the administration did not permit the procession to be taken out from the place where the stone pelting incident had taken place as there was tension in the area.

On Sunday night, people belonging to the Hindu community surrounded the police station demanding quick action in the matter. As no agreement was reached till late on Sunday night, the entire Hindu community decided that they would not witness the Barawafat procession.

So they chose to visit the Kali Mangri Dev Sthan on Monday morning, where they engaged in singing hymns and organized a community feast there.

Former councilor Raju Jangid said, “People of the entire Hindu community have come to Kali Mangri today as a mark of protest and black cloths have been put up outside the houses as a mark of protest. All women, children, and senior citizens of the town have become a part of this protest.”

“The locals have also demanded that a bulldozer should be run on the houses of the accused so that we get justice," said Shyam Sundar Pareek, a local from Bhilwara.

He said, “We don’t want to harm anyone, however, we want justice. We never go to their sites, then why do they come to our pooja sites?”

Rajan Dhushyant, SP, Bhilwara said, "The situation is under control in the district. The procession has culminated peacefully, villagers who protested have returned to their homes. We have already arrested three accused in the incident of stone pelting and further investigations are on."