"After the controversial gram sabha resolutions banning non-Hindu religious activity in villages in tribal Bastar, there was fresh tension in Madota village after local Christians were assaulted allegedly by right-wing activists, leaving 12 people injured late on Saturday. Eleven of the injured are still undergoing treatment at a hospital in Jagdalpur, where they were brought in a truck. While the police recorded their statement, senior civil and police officials are tight-lipped about the clash..."
"With the communal violence in Trilokpuri, East Delhi, escalating on Saturday, leaders of the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the local BJP of sustaining the riot in an attempt to polarise votes in the Trilokpuri Assembly segment. he Trilokpuri Assembly segment — a resettlement colony — was a Congress bastion until 2008. In the 2008 Assembly election, the BJP won the seat by a narrow margin. In 2013, AAP leader Raju won the Assembly elections, capitalising heavily on the Dalit votes.
"A report by People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has held growing influence of BJP and right wing Hindutva groups over police and administration; and nexus between police , politicians and criminals as the ‘chief factors’ contributing to the recent communal tension in Vadodara.
"India is no stranger to mobs rampaging through neighbourhoods breaking vehicles, assaulting residents and sometimes firing guns. If the mob is composed of policemen, however, the situation demands even stricter attention. A fact-finding mission by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties has found that much of the violence that engulfed Vadodara in the last week of September was not only due to lackadaisical policing, but actively caused by the men in uniform.
'Six weeks after documentary filmmaker Shubhradeep Chakravorty died of a brain haemorrhage in Delhi on August 25 aged 42, his wife, Meera Chaudhary, who is also the co-director of his latest film, En Dino Muzaffarnagar, is contemplating legal action against the ban imposed on their film by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
Shubhradeep died before he could screen his film to the public. His last Facebook post read:
"Rioters have become active in Gujarat once again. Attempts are being made to revive communalism in an Gujarat which is known to be a communal tinderbox. Baroda was under the grip of riots since September 25th 2014, first day of Navratri. Riots continued for five days in one km area of old city namely Yakutpura, Fatehpura, Bhandwada and Hathikhana, when rest of the Baroda was dancing to the tunes of Garba.
" A common thread appears to have emerged from a series of communal incidents in Gujarat over the last two weeks, with residents of the areas affected blaming an alleged nexus between local VHP activists and police in triggering the violence. All the clashes were sparked by crackdowns on the sale of beef during Navratri and Bakrid — the slaughter of cows is banned in Gujarat.
"Navgujarat Samay which is Times Of India group’s Gujarati daily has reported in its October 1st issue that Manish Wagh, BJP Baroda’s Ward Pramukh (Chief), has been arrested in connection with burning of several houses of Hindu families in the Navapura area of Baroda. Along with Manish Wagh, 36 other officer bearers of BJP were also arrested in this connection. It is also reported that besides the aforementioned arrests, a few Muslim rioters were also arrested. It is also reported that Manish Wagh’s arrest has led to several doubts regarding the entire modus-operandi of Baroda riots."
"The old city of Vadodara has been reeling under communal tension for last two days as members of two communities resorted to stone pelting and arson both on Thursday and Friday. Local Muslims have accused the police of bias and hotheadedness in dealing with riots, alleging that they entered their houses without permission, used abusive language, and also broke furniture and burnt bikes.
"Civil Society and Human Rights Organisations across India observed 25th of August as Kandhamal Solidarity Day. Various programs was orgnaised by different groups in cities like Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, Bangalore and Trivandrum marking 6th anniversary of anti-Christian communal violence of 2008.
