5 nights since results, Vadodara hasn’t slept

Election has come and gone, but the residents of the walled city areas of Vadodara haven’t slept a single night peacefully after the po...

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Election has come and gone, but the residents of the walled city areas of Vadodara haven’t slept a single night peacefully after the poll results with incidents of stone-pelting continuing for the fifth night today.

Trouble started with the victory procession taken out by BJP candidate from Raopura Yogesh Patel that, residents allege, only fanned the underlying communal tension that was at its peak for months since February 27. While the day passes off peacefully, miscreants take to the streets in the night.

The night curfew imposed in Machhipith from where violence started has been lifted but tension has spread to other areas where groups come out and indulge in stone-pelting or arson only after 9.30 p.m.

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Three shops belonging to Muslims were torched and the Kadia mosque on Raopura Road was damaged in broad daylight on December 15 when Patel’s victory procession passed by Machhipith. While BJP claims the procession came under stone-pelting, the locals allege they themselves were the target. A police inspector was among those injured in stone-pelting.

Two Hindu shops were torched on the same night after curfew had been imposed in the night. A few Muslim houses were targeted in Dabhi mohalla the same night which led to a pitched battle between the two communities. Two cabins belonging to Hindus were also set ablaze.

Local MLA Bhupendra Lakhawala’s visit on the morning of December 16 to Dabhi mohalla did not help. In fact, rival mobs indulged in stone-pelting in the MLA’s presence and he had to be escorted out to safety by police. Violence again erupted in the night, this time a mosque in Chhipwad was targeted. A temple was attacked in retaliation.

On the night of December 17, group clashes took place in Fatehpura and Hathikhana areas. Police fired at a Hindu mob and injured two persons who alleged the police were drunk. The cops were subjected to breath-analyser tests that proved negative but were transferred out of Fatehpura police outpost. The police could do little as sporadic violence continued in different parts. A hut belonging to a Hindu was burnt down completely while a Muslim youth was injured in police firing.

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On December 18, violence shifted to Rayen Basera mohalla where two Muslim houses were torched. No one was arrested, and on Thursday, around 9.30 p.m., a couple of shops belonging to Muslims were torched in Mangal Bazar, city’s main market centre.

‘‘Nights have become a nightmare for the last four days,’’ said Gopal Rana of Nagarwada, an area close to Nawabwada. ‘‘Tension grips the walled city as soon as darkness falls forcing the shopkeepers to down shutters early. Customers also rush home early,’’ said Yunus Patel, a shopkeeper of Jubileebaug.