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Shia-Sunni clash claims three lives
Shahira Naim
Tribune News Service

Lucknow, February 20
At least three persons were killed and as many as 15 were injured in sectarian violence in Lucknow and Kolkata, while six Shia leaders were detained in Srinagar for defying a ban on tazia procession during 'Ashura' of Muharram today.

A procession to mark the martyrdom of Imam Hussain on Sunday led to an ugly dispute in the Ramganj area of the old city. It left at least three persons dead, 10 seriously injured and several shops burnt and looted. It also put parts of the old city under curfew, Shia-Sunnis amity under strain and the administration’s claim of preparedness thoroughly exposed.

The government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the three deceased, Arif, Aqil and Guddu, all in their twenties. The injured are to be given Rs 3 lakh each. Stern action has been promised against the guilty.

The sequence of events began around 10.45 in the morning when a section of the Shia community took out a procession from Muftiganj. When it reached the Ramganj area, brick-bats were exchanged. There was retaliation from the other group. Soon it was a free for all. Gunshots were also heard. The unruly crowd outnumbered the police. By the time additional police forces were rushed, shops had been set ablaze. The police took around three hours to bring the situation under control.

The DM, Ms Aradhna Shukla, who was personally supervising the operation, claimed the situation to be fully under control.

As soon as news of the clashes reached other parts of the city, a large crowd of Sunnis collected at Akbari Gate. The DM and the SP reached the spot. The demand for compensation for the dead and injured as well as the assurance of stern action against the guilty was immediately agreed upon by the administration

Mr Sulkhan Singh, IG Lucknow Zone, asserted that the police was “reasonable in number” and denied having any information of prior trouble brewing in the area. Admitting that the mischief-makers had outnumbered the force, he informed that 11 PAC and 3 RAF companies had been rushed to the area. Unconfirmed reports say that FIRs have been filed against 400 unnamed persons.

According to the CDO, Lucknow, Mr Anurag Yadav, prima facie bullet marks were visible only on one body while the other two appear to have succumbed to a stampede. However, the final picture would emerge only after a post-mortem is conducted.

Senior religious leaders from both communities were seen on the roads pacifying the crowds and pleading with the people to remain calm. Calling it a conspiracy Shia cleric Kalbe Jawwad hinted towards his earlier charge of the Right parties master-minding a separate Shia Board. He appealed to both communities to exercise restraint and not succumb to the design of those who were trying to sow the seeds of enmity between the communities.

According to a PTI report from New Delhi, a stray clash marred an otherwise peaceful Muharram in West Bengal in Birbhum district when participants of processions fought over the right of way and one person sustained a head injury in brick-batting, the police said.

In Srinagar, Shia leaders Aga Syed Akeel, Nissar Hussain Rather, Syed Imtiyaz, Shabir Hussain and Mohammad Jaffar Turabi were detained by the police when they defied a ban imposed by the Jammu and Kashmir Government on processions in the Civil Lines area, official sources said.