Two men, Shaqir Ali and Sabir have been arrested in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh over a communal clash which broke during Holi celebrations. One person was killed and four others injured in a communal clash which erupted over Holi celebrations at Kukari Khera village under Jahanabad police station in Pilibhit district, Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.

An FIR has been lodged against four accused following a complaint filed by the deceased’s side. A person named Jaiprakash (45), accompanied by others namely, Subhash, Raj Rishi, Pintu and Chhedalal, who were playing Holi on March 21, got into a tiff with few people of the Muslim community.

A scuffle ensued as the people of the minority community assaulted Jaiprakash and others for throwing colour on them. Soon the fight took an ugly turn with the two sides joined by others, started pelting stones at each other and assaulting each other with sharp tools and sticks. UP police, which reached the spot immediately after getting the information about the tussle, had to resort to lathi charge to disperse the mob.

In what transpired, Jaiprakash was severely injured and rushed to Jahanabad primary health centre. He was later referred to a private hospital in Bareilly where he succumbed to his head injuries on Friday.

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There is tension in the village after the incident. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the village. After the incident, the families of the accused have reportedly locked their houses and fled from the village.

Following the death of Jaiprakash, the FIR which was lodged against Sabir, Shaqir Ali and others would now be converted into IPC section 302 (murder) said Yogendra Kumar, CO of Jahanabad circle.

Such incidents of intolerance have been rampant in recent times. In a similar incident, communal tension had flared up in Agra after one group had opposed organising Shivratri in the locality on March 4.

Similarly, in March last year, clashes broke out in the Nawada district of Bihar, following the desecration of Lord Hanuman’s idol in the district’s Gondapur village. As per local reports, the discovery of this desecration had resulted in irate locals blocking the Patna-Ranchi highway. This had also ultimately escalated into a clash between two communities.

The said violence included torching of shops and vandalising vehicles and also resulted in the equipment of media persons getting damaged. In order to control the mobs, the police had to resort to firing shots in the air.