Tension in Mumbra over Quran

Tension erupted on the streets of Thanes Mumbra area on Friday after shreds of pages of the Quran were allegedly found by sweepers clearing a ground of spent firecrackers.

Tension erupted on the streets of Thanes Mumbra area on Friday after shreds of pages of the Quran were allegedly found by sweepers clearing a ground of spent firecrackers. The incident came to light on Friday morning. The news spread and Muslim residents of the area came out in large numbers to protest.

Sources in Thane Police revealed that the pages were seen at Mittal Ground in Mumbra. A mass wedding ceremony was held on the ground on Thursday. The ground is located next to a Shiva temple. On Friday morning,when sweepers were cleaning remains of spent firecrackers,they found pages of the Quran which were burnt. The pages were used to make the firecrackers, revealed an officer from Thane Police on the condition of anonymity.

When news spread in Muslim-dominated Mumbra,groups of protesters gathered. All shops were forced to close by the protesters. The incident took an ugly turn when protesters set three motorcycles ablaze. They also pelted stones at a car, the officer said. The officer revealed that a crowd of nearly 900 protesters also marched to Mumbra Railway Station and stopped trains. Fearing a backlash and a riot,police pressed all personnel into action and also called for reinforcements. We pressed the riot control police and companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) into action. Many rioters were nabbed, the officer said.

Train services resumed later,after police were deployed at Mumbra Railway Station. Thane Police Commissioner K P Raghuvanshi said law and order was restored in the area by

Friday evening.

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