Eight people have been arrested and more than 60 booked after two incidents of violence during Lakshmi idol immersion processions in Palamu district, where stone-pelting injured police personnel and damaged vehicles, police said.
The first incident occurred in Raksaha village under Rehla police station limits on Monday evening. According to police, a dispute among procession participants over music played by a DJ escalated after officers intervened and asked organisers to stop the music.
Police said the crowd allegedly turned hostile, pelted stones at the police team and damaged a police vehicle. Four policemen, including Rehla police station officer-in-charge Gulshan Biruwa, were injured in the incident. The police team was briefly surrounded, and some people allegedly attempted to prevent personnel from recording videos.
Four rounds were fired in the air to disperse the crowd and allow the police team to leave the area safely, police said. Bishrampur sub-divisional police officer Chiranjeev Mandal said the youths in the procession were allegedly intoxicated and had clashed over DJ songs and music.
Eight residents of Raksaha village, all from the same family and aged between 20 and 35, were arrested in connection with the incident, according to a police statement issued on Tuesday evening. They were produced before a local court and remanded in judicial custody. Police have registered an FIR against 22 identified people in the Raksaha case.
A separate clash was reported from Sindurya village under Satbarwa police station limits. Police said a dispute between two idol immersion groups allegedly led to stone-pelting and damage to two police vehicles. As in Raksaha, officers said DJ music and intoxication among some participants contributed to the unrest.
In the Satbarwa case, police have registered an FIR against more than 40 named accused as well as several unidentified people. Police said timely intervention prevented loss of life in both incidents. The arrests and ongoing investigation relate to alleged violence against police personnel, damage to public vehicles and disruption during the immersion processions.
