Police arrive at the scene after more stone-pelting at the Ram Navami procession in Vadodara.
Police raced to the spot, yet were attempting to manage what is happening. In recordings, a few groups were seen throwing stones at each other during the parade.
Ankush Pandey
On Thursday evening, a Ram Navami procession in the Fatehpura neighborhood of Vadodara, Gujarat, was attacked with stones. This occurred hours after an attack on a similar procession earlier that day in the same location.
As soon as the police arrived, they struggled to control the situation. A few recordings from the spot showed individuals throwing stones at each other during the parade.
Earlier in the day, a similar commotion erupted in the same location, causing several road vehicles to be damaged by the mob. The procession, according to the police, proceeded as planned while under their supervision.
According to the news agency PTI, a local leader of the right-wing Hindu organization Bajrang Dal claimed that despite knowing that such an incident had occurred in the past, police were not visible during the procession.
However, Deputy Commissioner of Police Yashpal Jaganiya stated that every procession in the city on Thursday received police protection.
"The circumstances are under control. The episode occurred when the parade arrived close to a mosque and individuals began gathering at the spot. This is not a riot in the community. The procession continued on its route after we dispersed the crowd. "Police protection was already provided to all such processions in the city," the top cop told reporters.
Notably, the police did not make any arrests.
Ketan Trivedi, president of the Vadodara Bajrang Dal, said that the stone-pelting was part of a plan.
"Almost annually, this procession is targeted. Even though they were aware of that, there was no police presence in this area. According to PTI, "stones were pelted as part of a pre-planned conspiracy."
