THANAPADA ( Harsul ): Even as riot-hit Harsul was limping back to normalcy, trouble-makers shifted their focus to a neighbouring hamlet of Thanapada in Maharashtra's Nashik district .

Several houses of those from the minority community including that of Tausif Shaikh, who reportedly works for the Rashtriya Muslim Manch and is an office-bearer of the BJP's minority cell, were damaged.

READ ALSO: Villagers flee riot zone for safety

The police said a restaurant in the hamlet, which was set ablaze on Wednesday night, was again on fire on Thursday along with a bakery. The hamlet, which is located 11km from Harsul, has a population of 4,000 people.

The police said about 100 adivasis (tribals) descended from the hills behind the hamlet on Wednesday night and damaged 25 houses belonging to Muslims. Shaikh's house was ransacked and burnt down.

Shaikh and his neighbours had taken shelter in a mosque, now guarded by the police after violence had broken out in Harsul. They were about to end their fast on Wednesday evening when they heard that their houses had been attacked. "I went to my house but saw it had been ransacked. I called for police help and personnel were sent there. Despite this, the house was set ablaze by miscreants later in the night," he said.

READ ALSO: Riot-hit Harsul limps back to normalcy after 48-hour strife

"Why Thanapada? Whatever happened in Harsul was an issue between two families and not a communal matter. And why target me? I am the one who started Shiv Jayanti celebrations in the hamlet," Shaikh said.

Rafiq Shaikh Mohammed, cleric of the mosque, said that several Muslim families were rushed to Nashik after the violence broke out in Harsul. "We are also trying to ensure that the mosque here is safe. The mosque was damaged during riots in 1982. We are the very much natives of this land and village and our forefathers have been living here since about 250 years. Better sense should prevail," he said.

Two police platoons rushed to Thanapada on Thursday after hearing about the attack on the restaurant and bakery. The police fired plastic bullets and five rounds of teargas in an attempt to disperse the miscreants. However, the adivasis used catapults to throw stones at the police. The police chased them up into the hills from where they had come but they disappeared into the woods. One policeman was injured

More than 200 police personnel, the fire brigade and a quick response team have camped in the hamlet. District superintendent of police Sanjay Mohite asked the hamlet-dwellers to ensure that no outsiders were present in the village at any point of time unless required. "There is a mob of around 400 people in the woods up in the hills who are likely to create problems. The people of this hamlet know who these miscreants are," he said.

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Mohite said non-cooperation by people living the hamlet was the reason for the violence spreading from Harsul to elsewhere.

Thanapada sarpanch Maya Sable promised all support to the police. "Hundreds of people marched on the hamlet last night. The police did not do anything when they hurled stones at houses near the mosque. How can you expect the villagers to face the mob? However, we will take all measures to ensure that outsiders do not come here. But we need help from the police," Sable said.

READ ALSO: 32 cops injured in fresh Harsul violence

