Uttarakhand Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank has ordered a magisterial probe into an incident of communal violence that had been reported from Hardwar last Saturday.

The probe was ordered after the issue rocked the proceedings of the state assembly. Both the legislators of the Congress as well as the BSP raised the issue in the house and did not allow the proceedings in the question hour. The opposition forced four adjournments of the House proceedings.

It was on last Saturday night that a set of anti social elements had torched a building used by a minority community for offering prayers in Shivalik Nagar area of the city. The incident had led to spread of rumors in the neighbouring locality of Jwalapur where both minority and majority population has considerable presence.

It took a communal turn that had resulted in stone-pelting, arson and loot. Many shops were ransacked and public property was destroyed in the Jwalapur area.

It was immediate intervention by the local administration and the police that prevented the situation from going out of hands. A peace meeting had been called at the Jwalapur police station, where leaders of both the communities as well as other representatives were asked to make appeals for maintaining harmony.

Any communal incident in Hardwar at a time when millions of Kanwariyas are thronging the town for carrying back home the water of the Ganges would have had serious repercussions.

More than five lakh Kanwariyas visit the city on daily basis during the Hindu calendar month of Saawan. The ‘Kanwars’ they use for carrying back water are mostly made by the members of the minority community.

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