Clash between two communities over Facebook message in Bihar's Kishanganj

A clash erupted here between members of two communities after a man circulated a communally sensitive message through Facebook, though the situation was brought under control following the arrest of the accused, officials said on Saturday. According to District Magistrate (DM) Aditya Prakash and Superintendent of Police (SP) Kumar Ashish, the trouble began after accused Bimal Basak, a resident of Pichhla Haat locality in Sadar Police Station area, circulated the message through the Facebook Messenger app to which members of another community took strong exception.

On Friday, a crowd attacked Basak's house and indulged in vandalism demanding that the accused be immediately handed over to the police. This led to a major skirmish between members of the two communities and the situation was brought under control only after Basak was arrested and taken to the Town Police Station from where he was sent to jail after being booked under relevant sections of the IPC, officials said. Tension continued to simmer in the area as members of the community aggrieved by the social media message kept demanding the arrest of all those who gave patronage to the accused.

They relented only after the DM and SP convened a meeting of representatives of both groups and persuaded them to give up their fight. "Tough action will be taken against all those who may have been involved in fomenting communal tensions. Kishanganj has been a symbol of Hindu-Muslim amity and we will not allow mischief mongers to vitiate the atmosphere," Prakash told the agitated residents.

"In the eyes of the law, all are equal. The accused has been arrested and please rest assured that none, who may have been involved in causing disturbances in any manner, will be spared," said Ashish. Officials led by the concerned Sub Divisional Magistrate and Sub Divisional Police Officer were camping in the area as a precautionary measure after the DM and SP left the scene.

Situated in Bihar's north-eastern extreme, Muslim-dominated Kishanganj is flanked by Nepal and West Bengal on two sides..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)