New Delhi (Agency): A disagreement over a social media post escalated into a community clash in the Patan district of Gujarat, leading to ten arrests and leaving eight people injured, according to police reports on Tuesday.
The precise contents of the post that caused the disagreement in Balisana town on the night of July 16 were not revealed by the police. However, sources have stated that it revolved around the Bollywood film ‘The Kerala Story’.
“We have arrested ten individuals from both sides of the clash so far. We detained eight from one group on Monday, and on Tuesday, we arrested two from the opposing side, including one Krish Patel,” stated Inspector J S Chaudhary of the Balisana police station.
The ten individuals arrested have had various charges brought against them, including assault, rioting, and attempted murder, said Chaudhary. As part of their investigation, the police took several of the arrested individuals to the area in Balisana, called Masjid Chowk, where the incident happened. They filmed a “reconstruction of the crime” there, which subsequently went viral on social media.
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police KK Pandya, the situation in town is now under control. “Some people were upset because a person from the town had posted something on social media. This post led to the clash on Sunday night, which resulted in eight people being injured. We have received complaints from both sides,” Pandya explained.
As stated in the first information report (FIR) filed by Arif Shaikh, Krish Patel and Nimesh Patel attacked him and his uncle Ilyas Shaikh, despite a previous agreement being reached about the social media post. Shaikh claimed that the Patel duo attacked them with a steel rod and threw stones at them.
In a counter-complaint, Meetkumar Patel alleged that a group of about 35 people, including the Shaikh pair, attacked him and five of his friends with the intention of killing them over the social media post. As per his FIR, Shaikh and others surrounded Patel and his friends and attacked them with sticks, pipes, and swords over the post.
