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 Life in Bhiwandi came to a standstill a day after the firing incident. Wheels of powerlooms had stopped yesterday due to tension prevailing in the vicinity after the firing incident that took place on Wednesday. And it seemed that the entire town had stopped in its tracks as roads were abandoned by vehicular traffic. The situation though tense was under control.
But as far as the security was concerned, all roads in Bhiwandi were dotted with men of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) along with local policemen who were deployed to control the situation and prevent it from worsening further. Throughout the day, there was no untoward incident reported.
Said D Sivanandhan, Thane Police Commissioner, “Eight companies of SRPF, two of RAF and about 700 to 800 local policemen were deployed to keep the situation under control.” In order to supervise the situation, Thane police Commissioner was camping in the DCP’s office nearby.
The funeral of those who died in police firing on Wednesday was scheduled for yesterday. The funeral procession was peaceful. A large number of people from the minority community participated in the funeral procession.
However, with the town being on the edge a day after the incident, fears of the situation getting out of hand continued to prevail. As a precautionary measure, most shops in the powerloom town remained shut but huge crowds of locals were seen on the roads.
 Story so far
On Wednesday, a mob of around 1000 were protesting in front of Quarter Gate Masjid, against construction of a police station behind a graveyard in Bhiwandi’s Islampura area.
Around 2 pm when the mob started demolishing the partially constructed building of the police station and started pelting stones, the police started lathi-charge. Later when matters got out of control, police opened fire in which two protesters died.
In the stone-pelting, around 14 policemen including DCP R D Shinde and DCP (Special Branch) A S Deshbhratar also injured. R D Shinde is still undergoing treatment at Mumbai’s Hinduja Hospital. Some police vehicles and state transport buses were also set on fire by the mob.
Later, in retaliation, locals killed two policemen - Jagtap of Narpoli police station and and Gangude of Bhoiwada, who were patrolling the area at night. The two cops were killed with choppers and stones.
Bhiwandi shows Unity
Bhiwandi being one of the most communally sensitive areas in the state, it was anticipated that the incident could take an ugly turn and turn into a communal riot. However, with members of both communities expressing regret towards the incident, kept their shops and working establishments closed throughout the day. At the funeral, people from both communities were present.
Shoaib (30) a local resident said, “This is the first time when, due to an incident, both communities kept their shops closed without any political party’s order. It shows a clear example of unity between people of both communities.”
Jagdish Patel (55) a shopowner said, “This is an incident in which we should show our regret with them and lending support to them we have also downed shutters of our shops.”
Funeral Procession
The bodies of Malick Abdul Khalik (50) and Ramzan (20) who died in police firing were laid to rest in a local graveyard. Before the burial, bodies were kept in the Quarter Gate Mosque where thousands gathered to pay their last respects. As tension prevailed in the area, and since a large number of people were part of the funeral procession, security in the area was beefed up.
Police Commissioner says
This what Police Commissioner D Sivanandhan had to say: “This land is in police possession since 1920. But locals are claiming that this land belongs to them and they have moved court. The court has given its verdict against them.
We have 7/12 abstract of the land with us. If they wish to, they can move court. We have necessary documents if, in future, government wants us to move the police station elsewhere. But as far as construction is concerned, we have stopped construction as the situation took an ugly turn.”
 What locals say
Says Sayeed Noori, General Secretary of Raza Academy, “Police had sought permission to construct their building 55 ft away from the graveyard. However, despite respecting the distance, they have constructed building on the land of graveyard itself.”
The Raza Academy also alleges that prior to construction, the police had not sought the approval of the competent authority.
Noori, however, condemned the killing of the two policemen. “Violence is not the solution to any problem,” he says.
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, Bombay - India
