Gujarat: FIR after pieces of religious text ‘scattered off giant wheel’ spark tension in Anand town

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Khambhat, S B Kumpavat said that the incident occurred late on Sunday evening when the four juveniles were attending the mela and as per “local practice”, had brought a bagful of pieces of paper to be showered from the giant wheel.

DySP Kumpavat said, “In this part of the district, it is a usual practice for youngsters to shower pieces of paper from the giant wheel and make reels for social media. It was part of a Diwali mela that had been going on for 10 days and Sunday was the last day.”

“ Our probe has revealed that these four children – aged between 12 and 14 – had randomly gathered papers from a pile of discarded books on the side of Nareshwar Talao and torn it into pieces … They were not aware that one of the books was perhaps a religious text, ”added the DySP.

Kumpavat said a few local residents spotted the pieces of paper and approached the police. “They sought an FIR in the case. We have lodged a case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections for hurting religious sentiments… The four CCL were produced before the JJ Board on Monday and have been released.”

Following the incident, the town remained tense and saw heavy police deployment. Kumpavat said the police intervened in the matter and assured the agitated local residents by “putting forth the facts” and lodging the complaint.