Bhopal: To ensure that upcoming festivals are celebrated in a peaceful atmosphere, maintaining harmony between the communities (Hindu-Muslim), Madhya Pradesh’s Shajapur District police have come up with an initiative to involve local residents as social volunteers.
Different groups of volunteers, comprising youth from both communities, were trained during a recent training camp organised at district police headquarters, and have given particular names such as – Police Mitra, Gram Suraksha Samiti, etc.
During the one day training camp, Superintendent of Police (SP) Shajapur, Jagdeesh Davar has instructed the volunteers to keep a close watch on their respective areas allocated to them and to inform the police so that any untoward incident (if emerges), can be avoided.
The step has been taken in view of upcoming religious festivals – Muharram (August 9-10), Rakshabandhan (August 11), and Janmashtmi (August 18-19). During the Muharram, the people of the Muslim community carry a procession called – ‘Tazia.’
Notably, the district has a mixed population of both Hindus and Muslims; and is considered a highly sensitive zone in the state. Communal incidents spark here every now and then, which keep the police on their toes, even during non-festival seasons.
“Even a scuffle broke out between individuals over some personal reasons would spark communal violence here. This entire Agar-Malwa region is considered a highly sensitive area due to communal clashes. Politically connected people plays a bigger role in making the tense situation for their own benefits,” said another senior police officer posted in the district.
A fresh such instance was reported during recently concluded local body elections when winning councillor Samiullah Khan, who is associated with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), had raised slogan ‘Pakistan Jindabad’ after winning the election.
The incident made the situation tense as hundreds of people from both the communities were present there. However, the police acted swiftly and arrested Khan, and the National Security Act (NSA) was imposed against him. At, present, Khan is in Ujjain Central Jail.
Talking to IANS, SP Sanjeev Davar said, “Different group of volunteers to be deployed in both villages and town. Like, in Muslim populated areas, youths (volunteers) would ensure that weapons are not carried during the procession and if they notice anything untoward, they would immediately alert the police. Similarly, volunteers are deployed in Hindu-dominated areas with the same purpose.”
The security in the district is on high alert also because of Independence Day, for which the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ movement is underway. Due to this, a flag march of the police is being carried out on regular basis across the district.
By Praveen Dwivedi
