Bangladesh anti-Hindu violence: Tension in Maharashtra city after stones thrown at protest march

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When stones were thrown at a car dealership on Friday during a protest march headed by a Hindu organisation denouncing the Bangladesh anti-Hindu violence, officials said that tensions broke out in Jalgaon, a city in northern Maharashtra. Sakal Hindu Samaj, an umbrella movement made up of several Hindu organisations, organised the protest, reported PTI.

A spokesperson for the Sakal Hindu Samaj told PTI, "The incident occurred in Jalgaon city this morning during a protest march by the Sakal Hindu Samaj against the Bangladesh anti-Hindu violence. Some unidentified persons hurled a few stones at a two-wheeler showroom."

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Hundreds of supporters of Sakal Hindu Samaj took part in the march. According to a police official, the demonstrators gave a memorandum outlining their requests to the local collector's office following the stone pelting at march against Bangladesh anti-Hindu violence, the news agency report stated.

The official said, "Hundreds of supporters of the Sakal Hindu Samaj took part in the march, and the protesters later went to the collector's office and handed over a memorandum of their demands."

According to the report, the stone-throwing incident briefly raised tension, but the local police soon got things under control. Precautionary steps included the deployment of more police officers throughout the city.

A parallel protest march took place in the Nashik district, with copious police present to keep the peace, the report added.

After former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left office and fled to India on August 5, amid widespread demonstrations against her government over a contentious job quota scheme. In the aftermath of it all, the Bangladesh anti-Hindu violence rose. According to the non-political Hindu religious organisation Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance, since August 5, there have been 278 incidents of violence and threats against the minority Hindu population spread across 48 districts.

In a another incident, communal tension erupted in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Friday as a crowd of Muslims gathered outside a police station in the city seeking action against a Hindu religious leader for allegedly making an offensive statement about Prophet Muhammad.

Muslims flocked to the City Chowk police station in large numbers, demanding action against Ramgiri Maharaj on the grounds that he had made offensive remarks against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Police made an effort to calm the group, stated another PTI report.