Police open fire at Durga Visarjan procession in Munger
PATNA: The violence, as per reports, broke out after Kotwali police asked Hindus not to delay the idol immersion procession of Shadipur Badi Durga.
Traditionally, the idols are immersed after three days of Vijayadashami but this time, in view of the first phase of Assembly polls in the state on Wednesday, the administration had insisted on the immersion by 5 am on Tuesday.
Durga puja organizers, as instructed, had taken out the procession allegedly with DJs close to midnight as they headed for the immersion. The situation turned ugly around 11.50 pm when police officials used brutal force on Hindus going for Durga Puja Visarjan.
As violence gripped the town of Munger in Bihar during the Durga Puja immersion ceremony and led to the death of one participant, SP Munger Lipi Singh defended the police brutalities on the devotees, claiming that the stone-pelting from devotees provoked the ensuing violence. She also asserted that 20 policemen were injured by stone-pelting from the crowd.
Singh further added that one of the members of the crowd opened fire which led to the death of the 18-year-old devotee. However, the videos of the incident that are being shared on various social media platforms do not jibe with the assertions made by SP Munger. On the contrary, they demonstrate that Singh’s claim about devotees indulging in violence and stone-pelting is a far cry from reality.
In several videos of the incident, devotees can be seen rushing to protect their Goddess as police personnel rain batons on the peaceful devotees, presumably to protect her from the police assault.
After the backlash, there are unverified claims of SP Lipi Singh being suspended from services. However, there is no confirmation on that regard yet. We shall update the report once we get an update.
Meanwhile, The official Twitter account of Munger Police stands deactivated after the police found itself in a centre of a furore over the brutality unleashed by its personnel on the devotees who participated in the Durga Puja immersion ceremony in the town.
Snapshot of archived version of Munger Police’s Twitter account
While the Twitter account that was created in April 2020 was not verified, it regularly posted updates and tweets regarding Munger Police.
Police open fire at Durga Visarjan procession in Munger
Several videos of the incident had gone viral on the internet in which police officials of Munger Police were seen mercilessly charging the devotees with batons. An 18-year-old man was killed and several others were injured in the ensuing violence.
The violence, as per reports, broke out after Kotwali police asked Hindus not to delay the idol immersion procession of Shadipur Badi Durga. Traditionally, the idols are immersed after three days of Vijayadashami but this time, in view of the first phase of Assembly polls in the state on Wednesday, the administration had insisted on the immersion by 5 am on Tuesday.
Durga puja organizers, as instructed, had taken out the procession allegedly with DJs close to midnight as they headed for the immersion. The situation turned ugly around 11.50 pm when police officials used brutal force on Hindus going for Durga Puja Visarjan.
Singh further added that one of the members of the crowd opened fire which led to the death of the 18-year-old devotee. However, the videos of the incident that are being shared on various social media platforms do not jibe with the assertions made by SP Munger.
On the contrary, they demonstrate that Singh’s claim about devotees indulging in violence and stone-pelting is a far cry from reality. In several videos of the incident, devotees can be seen rushing to protect their Goddess as police personnel rain batons on the peaceful devotees, presumably to protect her from the police assault.
(Bureau Report with agency Inputs ).
