By PTI
RANCHI: Security was beefed up in Jharkhand capital city and sensitive areas of the state on Thursday ahead of Friday prayers and about 5000 additional forces equipped with anti-riot gears and water cannons were deployed at strategic pockets and religious places to prevent any untoward incident, police said.
Some strategic locations in the capital Ranchi have been barricaded in order to control any violence or communal flare up and peace meetings were held by the police and administration, who appealed to the minority community not to hold congregational prayers on roads, officials said.
The extra precautions have been taken in view of the Friday prayers as violence had erupted in Ranchi on June 10 after the customary congregational prayers, Jharkhand Police spokesperson and IG(operations) Amol V Homkar told PTI.
Two persons were killed and more than 24 people critically injured in protests and clashes in the city over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by suspended BJP leaders on June 10.
Police had to intervene to control the situation at Hazaribagh, Ramgarh and Jamshedpur.
“Police forces are on the alert across Jharkhand and additional deployments of forces equipped with anti-riot gears and water cannons have been made at all strategic pockets and sensitive areas. About 5,000 police personnel have been deputed at strategic locations in the state including over 3,500 in Ranchi,” Homkar said.
Homkar said police is keeping a strict vigil on all social media platforms and warned of strict action if provocative material is posted on it.
In Ranchi, the security forces were deployed with magistrates.
“We are keeping track of updates. Forces have been deployed for Friday. The situation is normal,” Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ranchi, Anish Gupta said.
As a measure of preparedness, a mock drill of the forces was conducted during the day besides assessment of water canons and other gears, officials said.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC clamped on June 10 to control the situation remained in force in the six police station areas of the city – Kotwali, Lower Bazar, Chutia, Daily Market, Doranda and Hindipiri, they said.
Ranchi Deputy Commissioner, Chhavi Ranjan appealed to people to cooperate in maintaining peace and order in the city and warned of strict action against those indulging in activities that could flare up communal tension.
He asked people to desist from exchanging provocative social media posts and cautioned them that strict action will be taken against those found guilty of it.
Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais had summoned state director general of police Neeraj Sinha and other senior officials to the Raj Bhavan on Monday and had sought to know why preventive measures or action to disperse the crowd were not taken during the agitation on June 10.
He had also asked why police personnel sent out to control the situation on that day did not wear anti-riot gear.
The authorities on Thursday imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in the entire Sonitpur district to prevent any untoward incident amid violent protests over controversial comments on Prophet Mohammad across the country.
This is the fifth district of the state where the orders were clamped after Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi and Kamrup.
Sonitpur District Magistrate Deba Kumar Mishra has promulgated the prohibitory orders with immediate effect.
Accordingly, assembly of five or more people in public places, carrying of weapons, holding of meetings, demonstrations, processions and sloganeering, and use of loudspeakers have been prohibited.
“It is reported that rumours on social media have led to communal tension in various parts of the country,” he said in the order.
On June 11, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that the government is keeping a close watch on the law and order situation in Assam following violence in several states over the controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad.
Protests erupted in several parts of the country over controversial remarks by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled leader Naveen Jindal on Prophet Mohammad.
The Congress, Assam Jatiya Parishad and AIUDF leaders have filed separate police complaints in the state against Sharma and Jindal for their remarks.
