| 2021 Kawardha riots and unrest | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofreligious violence in India | |||||||||
| Date | 3 October 2021; 4 years ago (3 October 2021)[1] | ||||||||
| Location | 22°01′N81°15′E / 22.02°N 81.25°E /22.02; 81.25 | ||||||||
| Goals | Arson,stoning,civil unrest andrioting | ||||||||
| Resulted in |
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| Parties | |||||||||
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The2021 Kawardha riots were incidents ofreligious violence between Hindus and Muslims that occurred inKawardha,Chhattisgarh, India, between 3 and 7 October 2021.[citation needed]
Kawardha is a small city in theKabirdham district ofChhattisgarh. It is the home of former stateChief MinisterRaman Singh and Forest MinisterMohammad Akbar.[2] The district is 92.4% Hindu and 7.76% Muslim.[3]
On Sunday, 3 October 2021, a group of Muslims and Hindus had an argument over the placement of religious flags in Loahara Naka Chowk in the town of Kawardha.[4][5][2][6][1] An eyewitness claimed that following the altercation, a green flag had been torn down, and some hours later, a saffron flag was removed in retaliation.[2][1] Two days later, right-wing organisations, including theVishva Hindu Parishad and theBajrang Dal, held a rally protesting the flag removal. The rally led to civil unrest in the region, including arson and rioting. The police conducted alathi charge to disperse the protestors,[7][1] invokedSection 144 (barring unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code, and imposed acurfew in the region.[8][9][10][7]
The police stated that the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal had promised peaceful protests.[1] They registered aFirst Information Reports against several people, includingSantosh Pandey, aMember of Parliament, andAbhishek Singh, a former Member of Parliament, both of whom were from theBharatiya Janata Party.[2]
