AHMEDABAD: Gujarat police have said that the communal violence that broke out in Khambat during the procession on Ram Navami on April 10 was a pre-planned conspiracy.
According to police, the conspiracy was hatched by three clerics and two others. Early inquiries suggest that they lured the youths from outside the state with money and other assistance to indulge in stone-pelting. It was decided to pelt stones from cemeteries as stones could be easily found there. The youths were promised legal support if they were caught by the authorities. The clerics, Mustakim Maulvi, Matin and Mauhmud who are brothers, were detained following the violence in Khambhat. Complaints were also lodged against a mob of more than 100 people after which they were interrogated.
Superintendent of police (SP) Ajit Rajiyan of Anand district told the media, “As part of a pre-planned conspiracy, stones were hurled during the Ram Navami procession in Khambhat. The motive of the accused was that once the Ram Navami procession was stoned and threatened, no such religious procession would take place in the future. The accused had started planning for the procession after news broke that the Ram Navmi procession was about to start and the entire conspiracy was hatched in the last three days after the procession got police permission. Razzaq Hussain Maulvi, Majud, Jamshed Khan Pathan, Mastakim Maulvi, Mahmud Saeed and Matin Younis Vora have been detained and an SIT has been formed at district level to further investigate the incident."
During the police investigation, deleted chats, as well as call recordings from the mobile phones of the arrested accused, were found, which directly indicates that there was an attempt by the accused to conceal the evidence. The recovered data, as well as inquiries, revealed that the conspiracy was hatched after watching provocative videos and messages circulating on social media for a long time.
According to the information received, the entire conspiracy was hatched by these people on Saturday, the day before Ram Navami. Men were called from outside Khambhat for this conspiracy. However, one by one these people are being identified. They have been charged with inciting hostility, murder and attempted murder. The police investigation has revealed who was involved in the conspiracy and what tasks were assigned to them.
The stones were already collected to carry out the conspiracy. In Khambhat, first a stone was thrown and then they set fire to shops. The clerics are also being questioned as to who was helping these people with money in this case, said police.
“These people were in touch with people from outside the district and abroad for the funds to carry out the conspiracy. The responsibility of raising funds was handed over to Matin. An investigation is currently underway into who helped from outside
the state and the country for the funds,” said the Anand SP.
After the stone-pelting during the Ram Navami procession on April 10 in Khambat, a sensitive taluka of Anand district, tensions were high across the city as some rioters set fire to two shops and a house in different parts of the city. Following the incident, a convoy including the district police chief reached the spot and fired five tear gas shells to control the mob. More than 15 people were injured in the incident, including a police convoy, while one was killed.