Union Home Minister Amit Shah terms Sasaram communal violence as "unfortunate"

Nawada (Bihar) [India], April 2 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday termed the communal violence in Sasaram as "unfortunate" and said he could not visit the city due to the clash between the two groups.

While addressing a public rally in Nawada, Shah said, "I was supposed to go to Sasaram but due to unfortunate situations people are being killed there, bullets are fired and tear-gas shelling is happening. I will come to Sasaram surely during my next visit."

"I pray to god that peace is restored at the earliest in the state. There's no point in speaking with the state government here, when I called the Governor then Lalan Singh (JDU president) got offended," he added.

On Sunday, Shah went ahead with his rally in Nawada town performing bhoomi pujan (a religious ritual preceding construction) in Patna for a SashastraSeema Bal building, and virtually inaugurated eight outposts along the India-Nepal border and a newly built SSB facility.

On Sunday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar chaired a high-level meeting over violence in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif during Ram Navami festivities and asked police to be on the alert.

Bihar CM also announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of a person who died after clashes broke out between two groups on Saturday evening in Nalanda's Bihar Sharif.

The deceased, identified as Mukesh Kumar, died in a firing incident in the Paharpur area, police said.

However, during the review meeting, the Chief Minister said that the police and the administration should be fully alert, and maintain complete promptness. "They should keep an eye on everything. Keep identifying the miscreants and take the strictest action against them.

Under any circumstances, keep an eye on it so that no mistake is made. Maintain law and order completely," an official statement said quoting Bihar CM.

Bihar CM also directed officials to have an immediate talk with the Superintendent of Police of all the districts through video conferencing.

"Get complete information. Inform the media about the facts by holding a press conference so that no rumour spreads and people do not get confused," CM said.

The Chief Minister condoled the death of the person killed in the incident in Bihar Sharif during the Ram Navami procession.

Tension continues to prevail in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif after widespread violence was witnessed on Friday during the Ram Navami Shobha yatra. Fresh violence erupted in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif on Saturday evening.

Firing took place reportedly in Paharpur and Kashi Takiya, injuring 3 people who were rushed to hospital for treatment. Several police personnel were also injured in stone pelting.

After Friday's violence, the local administration had imposed section 144 in Bihar Sharif.