Bahraich (UP), Oct 19 With memories of the Bahraich October 2024 violence looming ahead of this year’s Durga idol immersion, police have asked organisers, DJ operators and residents for a pledge to maintain peace and communal harmony during the festival.
The pledge was administered at a meeting held on Sunday at the Hardi police station, three days before the scheduled immersion procession on October 21, bringing together Durga Puja organisers, cultural programme coordinators, DJ operators, religious leaders and prominent local residents, police said on Monday.
Hardi Station House Officer Alok Singh told PTI that organisers were instructed to ensure CCTV cameras inside and outside puja pandals, separate entry and exit gates for women, and deployment of volunteers.
They also pledged not to resort to violence or use objectionable songs or speeches during the procession, to play only designated devotional songs, refrain from consuming intoxicants, follow prescribed sound limits and cooperate with the administration in maintaining law and order.
“They agreed to take out processions only along the routes designated for idol immersion and ensure that the festival concludes peacefully while maintaining mutual brotherhood and harmony,” the SHO said.
A video purportedly showing the participants taking the pledge has also circulated on social media.
The preventive measures assume significance in view of the violence that erupted on October 13, 2024, during a Durga idol immersion procession in Maharajganj market, under the Hardi police station area.
A dispute over music played during the procession escalated into violence, in which 22-year-old Ram Gopal Mishra was shot dead and several others were injured.
A mob subsequently went on a rampage, with widespread vandalism and arson reported. Several houses, shops, a hospital, motorcycles and cars were set on fire, while the area witnessed curfew-like conditions for several days.
Internet services were also suspended to prevent the spreading of rumours.
Police booked around 1,000 identified and unidentified people and made more than 100 arrests, according to the account of the incident.
Disciplinary action was also taken against several police and administrative personnel posted in the area at the time. Arms licences of several accused were cancelled, while the National Security Act (NSA) was also invoked against many of them.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had met the victims and announced relief measures. The incident also triggered sharp reactions from opposition leaders, including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and senior SP leader Mata Prasad Pandey.
On December 11, 2025, a Bahraich court sentenced one of the accused in the Ram Gopal Mishra murder case to death and nine others to life imprisonment.
The police on Monday said the area is currently peaceful and normal, with Navratri being celebrated with enthusiasm. The collective immersion of Durga idols is scheduled for October 21.
(PTI News)
