Inter-faith ‘love interest’ triggers clashes, 30 detained

Police keep a tight vigil at Dhanyavi village on Monday . (Source: Express photo by Bhupendra Rana)

A clash broke out between two communities in Dhanyavi village, about 15 kilometers from Vadodara, on Monday afternoon, over an alleged inter-religious “love interest” between a girl and boy. The police detained over 30 persons and confiscated several weapons, including swords and rifles, from the villagers. Although the situation has been brought under control, a strong police presence continues to guard the tense village.

Dhaniyavi village near Vadodara remained tense since late Sunday night after two communities flared up over an alleged “love interest” between a girl of the Darbar community and a boy of a Garasiya Muslim family in the village. Sword-wielding groups of both communities attacked each other Monday afternoon, despite the police presence since Sunday night. When the clash turned ugly, policemen on duty fired four rounds in the air to disperse the villagers and avert the clash from taking a communal turn. While villagers claim that the situation flared up as the locals suspected the girl and the boy to be romantically involved, police said that the family of the girl revealed that the boy was “pursuing” their daughter through other villagers. The matter came to light on Sunday after messages sent by the boy, intended for the girl, were disclosed by an intermediate friend and members of the Darbar community brutally thrashed the boy. Villagers said that the family of the girl had recently sent her off to a hostel in Vadodara for her further education so as to keep her away from Dhaniyavi.

While the local police arrived at the spot on Sunday night and calmed the situation, the clash ensued on Monday afternoon when angry members of both communities began attacking each other with swords. The local police seized swords, licensed rifles, iron rods and other sharp weapons from the village homes and detained 30 persons. Sandeep Singh, SP (Vadodara rural), said, “We have booked 30 persons for this clashes. It has not been classified as a communal clash because it began for personal reasons and the government guidelines specify that clashes that are private cannot be booked under sections for communal rioting. The situation is under control.”