Cow's chopped tail found outside temple; communal tensions flare up in Rajasthan's Bhilwara

Jaipur: Tense atmosphere continued to haunt the streets of Bhilwara for the second consecutive day after a cow's chopped tail was found outside a temple on Sunday

The tail was found at the temple premises in Bhavani Nagar. As soon as the news spread, thousands gathered outside the temple to protest against the mischief, demanding immediate action by the police. Traffic was stalled and the police had to use mild force to disperse the agitated crowd.

The protesters included BJP MP Damodar Agarwal and Sant Mahamandeleshwar Hansaram, who demanded immediate arrests of the miscreants and gave a time limit of 5 pm to the police to catch the miscreants.

The police controlled the agitated crowd which was was marching towards a colony dominated by minority communities. After the police and Collector Namit Mehtane promised to nab the culprits as soon as possible , did the crowd relent. They issued an ultimatum of 12 pm on Monday for arresting the miscreants.

On Monday, after a WhatsApp message circulated asking people to gather at Parshuram Circle, people armed with sticks congregated at the designated place and started shouting slogans.

Some miscreants pelted stones, vandalised shops and smashed the window panes of shops.

Many tried to disrupt the peace and forced shopkeepers to close their shops. Police had to resort to lathicharge twice to disperse the mischief makers. Bhilwara MLA Ashok Kothari and other religious leaders were also part of the protest.

Some shopkeepers downed their shutters fearing communal tensions. However, political leaders denied they were forcing the shopkeepers to close.

Bhilwara SP Rajendra Dushyant said they have detained eight people till now, who are being questioned.