The 2015 Bharuch riots took place in Hansot village of Bharuch district, Gujarat state in India. It was caused by communal tensions from a number of events between the Hindu majority and the Muslim minority. The riots resulted in the deaths of three people, an unknown number of injuries, as well as several homes and businesses being burnt down.
Probable causes[edit | edit source]
Events of communal tensions before the riots:
1) 9-11 December 2014 Regarding pornographic cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad circulated on the internet by Sunil Patel (Sunil Mansukhbhai Patel) of Ambheta village.[1][2]
2) 14 December 2014 - 5 January 2015 The attempted forcible conversion and ethnic cleansing of the family of Mohammed Gulam Hafiz Danavala in Katpore village by a Hindu fundamentalist mob. Numerous district wide attacks and threats to the minority Muslim community, in particular the villages of Sajod, Ilav, and Shera.
3) 14 January 2015 Kite-flying incident in Ambheta village, where a Muslim boy was beaten by a Hindu mob, which later turned into a communal riot in the village.[3]
Casualties[edit | edit source]
Deaths[edit | edit source]
The riots left three people dead.[4] One victim died on the spot and two died in hospital.[5]
Two men of the majority Hindu community and one man of the minority Muslim community, were brutally murdered in the infamous Sunevkhurd village Ambulance Attack, where an ambulance under police protection was surrounded and attacked by a Muslim mob, resulting in the Hindu patient inside the ambulance, who had already had his skull hacked open and exposed, being left stranded and later dying to his injuries.
Injuries[edit | edit source]
Multiple victims of both the minority Muslim and majority Hindu communities.
Destruction/damage to assets including property and livestock[edit | edit source]
Initially, a shop belonging to a Hindu and a shop belonging to a Muslim were burnt in Hansot. Later on, houses of Hindus were burnt by angry rioting Muslim mobs.[6]
Aftermath[edit | edit source]
Families were forced to take refuge in the neighbouring Surat district.[7]
State Police had to fire tear gas to control the rioting mobs.[8]
The cremations took place after police deployed six companies of the Central Reserve Police Force and one company of the Rapid Action Force in the district.[9]
Afterwards, the tension between the two parties eased and the riots came to an end.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Gujarat: Muslim leaders visit riots-affected Hansot and Ambheta on fact finding mission [1]
- ↑ "Two dead, one critical after communal clashes in Bharuch". The Hindu. 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
- ↑ "Three killed, 10 injured in riot in Gujarat's Bharuch district". India TV News. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ "Gujarat: Three Killed in Communal Clashes in Bharuch - Jan 14,2015". outlookindia.com. 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
- ↑ "Gujarat: 3 killed in communal clashes in Bharuch district : Latest of the Lot, News". India Today. 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
- ↑ India (16 January 2015). "Day after clashes, tension in Bharuch". The Indian Express. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ "Saffron hue to govt's green drive, CM opens Janki Van to public - Peacemap". peacemap.in. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ↑ Singh, Neha (Jan 15, 2015). "Gujarat: 3 Killed, 10 Injured in Communal Clash in Bharuch District". International Business Times, India Edition. Retrieved Nov 21, 2015.
- ↑ "Two victims of Hansot riots cremated amid tension". The Times of India. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
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