Tension prevailed in Khurramnagar under Vijaygarh Police Station in Aligarh district when members of the two communities clashed with one another following a long dispute over toilet near a mosque. Soon it turned violent when someone opened fired killing 18-year-old Haseen Khan on the spot.
One person, belonging to the minority community, died and about ten others were injured when members of the two communities fired at each other and threw bricks in a clash over demolition of a toilet near a mosque in communally-sensitive Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday afternoon.
The small dispute soon took communal colour and members from both the communities used sharp-edged weapons to attack each other leaving about ten injured, four of them seriously. The mob also torched a few vehicles.
Eyewitnesses claimed that land adjacent to the mosque in Khurramnagar belonged to a one Om Prakash Upadhyaya.
A few years ago, management of the mosque constructed a toilet on Upadhyaya’s land. The dispute over construction of toilet was on since then between members of both the communities.
After fighting a court battle, Upadhyaya’s brother Ramveer Fauji obtained an order from the court to demolish the toilet constructed on the encroached land.
Om Prakash, Ramveer and few others reached the site on Saturday morning to demolish the toilet only to face stiff opposition and challenge from members of the minority community.
After a heated argument, both sides opened fire and threw bricks at each other. One bullet hit Haseen and he died on the spot.
Om Prakash, Rajveer, Ajay, Vikash, Santosh were among eight who sustained serious injuries while Mohabbat Ali and one more person got critically injured.
The injured have been admitted at the district and other hospitals. Police Force and Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed in and around mosque in Khurramnagar village. The situation is tense but under control.
FIRs have been lodged from both sides blaming each other for the communal clash.
“The situation has been brought under control and there is no tension in the village after deployment of heavy force, including the RAF. The dispute over toilet led to the clash between the two communities. We are looking into the history of the dispute and verifying the court order. A peace committee has also been formed to settle the dispute amicably,” said Dr H.B. Yashod, the District Magistrate, Aligarh.
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