Any possibility of communal tinting of an incident of violence in Deoria, that left one dead, has been denied by the district administration and police.
Amit Kishore, the District Magistrate of Deoria said, “The situation is peaceful. The administration is camping in the area to reassure people. It was an incident between two groups which unfortunately turned violent.”
On the intervening night of August 24 and 25, Sumit Jaiswal was allegedly beaten by a group of people after he had objected to the loud playing of DJ music as part of the Janmashtami celebrations to mark the birth of Lord Krishna. He sustained head injuries and was declared dead upon his arrival at the District Hospital.
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Munnulal Jaiswal, father of the 28-year-old Sumit told THE WEEK that he had complained about the music to the local organisers and that his son had also dialled the 100 police helpline. “Police arrived and stopped the music. But after a while, it started playing again. I objected to it a second time. After midnight about 15 people carrying rods entered our home, abused us and started to beat us”, he said. According to Munnulal, in addition to Sumit, his younger son Sachin, daughter Khusbhoo and Sumit’s wife Jyoti were also beaten up. The family’s cries of help brought in the neighbours and the attackers fled.
Some sections of the local media suggest a communal angle to the incident but this has been denied by the district police. A statement issued by the police said, “The incident has been exaggerated to suggest that the clash took place between two communities. The incident took place between two Hindu families...some of the named accused belong to another community but on the basis of this it cannot be described as a clash between two communities.” The police have also denied reports that shops were looted in the aftermath of the incident.
Patel Nagar, the locality where the incident took place is about 25 kilometres from Deoria. It falls under the Barhaj Police Station. It has a mixed population.
This year's Janmashtami celebrations had been vigorously promoted by the state government on various platforms.
Noor Alam, a chartered accountant based in Deoria, an eastern district of the state, told THE WEEK, “Deoria is a peaceful place. Its residents have always responded with patience and understanding to any attempts made to vitiate the atmosphere”.
The father of the deceased has filed an FIR against six named and numerous unnamed people. He has alleged that the attack was planned. All the six named in the FIR had been arrested by the time of the filing of this report. One of the accused also led the police to the recovery of the rods that were used in the attack. The Station House officer and in-charge of Barhaj has been suspended for failing to take strict action subsequent to the call of help made to them.
The playing of DJ music is banned in the state. Earlier in August a two-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, responding to a Public Interest Litigation had directed a stop to such music across the state for causing noise pollution. It had also mandated that violations attract a penalty of up to one lakh rupees and imprisonment of up to five years.
