BHOPAL: Massive communal violence allegedly erupted in Tarana town of western Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain district following an attack on a young Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader, triggering clashes between two communities that left dozens of vehicles damaged and several houses targeted.
Ujjain is the home district of Chief Minister and Home Minister Dr Mohan Yadav.
The violence began on Thursday evening after Sohal Thakur Bundela, a local VHP leader who heads the organisation’s Gau Seva Prakoshtha (cow protection cell), was attacked by a group of men from the minority community in the Sukhla Gali area of Tarana.
Police said the incident started with a verbal altercation over staring and standing at the spot, which escalated into a physical assault, leaving Thakur with multiple injuries.
Unconfirmed sources claimed that Thakur has alleged the attackers told him not to work excessively for cow protection.
Following the attack, clashes allegedly broke out between members of both communities, with stone pelting reported from several areas. During the violence on Thursday night, more than two dozen vehicles were damaged, including buses parked near the local bus stand. Police reached the spot in large numbers and brought the situation under control by late night.
However, tensions flared again on Friday afternoon, allegedly after Friday prayers, when armed youths from both communities reportedly came face to face. The situation became difficult to control, prompting the police to rush additional forces from five to ten police stations across the district.
The renewed violence saw widespread damage to property, with at least 13 buses, around ten cars and several motorbikes damaged. One of the buses was allegedly set ablaze.
Some shops were also reportedly targeted. According to local reports, four to six houses were damaged during the clashes.
Women from one community alleged that men armed with swords, rods and lathis stormed into their localities and pelted stones at houses in a targeted manner. They further alleged that the mob attempted to target their place of worship.
Videos circulating on social media showed armed men attempting to storm a locked house even in the presence of police, highlighting the intensity of communal tension in the town, which has no major history of communal violence.
Other videos allegedly showed men from both communities armed with swords and rods challenging each other as police tried to disperse them.
In response to the situation, prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS), equivalent to Section 144 of the CrPC, were imposed across Tarana town.
Police registered a case in connection with the attack on the VHP leader and arrested five men on Friday. Following the arrests, supporters of the injured VHP leader staged a protest outside the Tarana police station, demanding that the accused be taken in a procession to the local court and that their houses be bulldozed.
According to IG (law and order) at the Madhya Pradesh Police headquarters, Anshuman Singh, while five men have been arrested in connection with the Thursday evening attack, 15 to 20 others have been detained for their alleged involvement in the violence on Thursday and Friday.
Ujjain district Superintendent of Police Pradip Sharma said, “We’ve already detained 15–20 men found involved in the violence. CCTV footage and video clips are being scanned to identify more rioters who indulged in violence.”
Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, who returned to Bhopal on Friday after attending the World Economic Forum 2026 annual meeting in Davos, said that none of those who indulged in violence would be spared and that stern action would be taken against them.
Meanwhile, Tarana Shahar Qazi Safiullah and local Congress MLA Mahesh Parmar said the town had never witnessed major communal violence in the past.
“Those who were involved in the criminal incident on Thursday evening should be punished as per the law, but in the name of that incident, commoners shouldn’t be targeted by those indulging in violence,” they said.
