The Telangana police today held a press conference on the recent
violent clashes that rocked Nirmal district's communally volatile Bhainsa town, earlier this month.
In his statement to the media, North Zone Inspector General of Police (IGP) Y Nagi Reddy revealed that investigations had led the police to come to the conclusion that the violence had been precipitated by members of the Hindu right-wing group, the Hindu Vahini. Further, he said that the members who had the greatest hand in instigating the violence were four men identified as Thotta Mahesh, Dattu Patel, Thotta Vijay and Santosh.
"The entire incident was triggered by Mahesh and Patel who had hit a youth named Rizwan, who was talking to two of his friends, Sameer and Minaj, outside the Zulfiqar mosque. This small incident was blown out of proportion by the Hindu Vahini district president Santosh and Thotta Vijay, who is sitting counsellor of Bhainsa's Ward No 8 and an ex-Hindu Vahini president. This is when things went out of hand, and members of the two communities resorted to stone pelting and arson. 26 cases were registered against those involved in the violence, and 38 people from both communities were remanded to judicial custody. We are working to gather evidence against 70 others who were also part of the two mobs. For this, we have formed special teams to examine CCTV footage from the night of the clash," the IGP said.
Reddy also addressed the allegations being made by the BJP against the police, of targeting only the Hindu mob in their investigation, and asserted, "The Telangana police have gone about the investigation in an entirely impartial manner. All the arrests have been made on the basis of technical evidence, and there is no truth to the allegations being made against us."
He then assured the media that the situation was now completely under control, and that 500 police personnel had been deployed in the town to prevent any untoward incidents. He appealed to the residents of Bhainsa to exercise restraint in the face of misinformation.
The incident is one among many similar altercations that have occurred in the town in the recent past. It left nine civilians and three police officers injured. Four houses, four auto-rickshaws, six cars, five two-wheelers, and 13 shops were also damaged in the violence.