2015 Bharuch riots


The 2015 Bharuch riots took place in Hansot Taluka of Bharuch district, Gujarat state in India. It was caused by communal tensions from a number of events between the Hindu majority and the Muslim minority. The riots resulted in three peoples deaths, an unknown number of injuries, as well as several homes and businesses being burned down.

Probable causes

Communal tensions before the riots :
1) 9 - 11 December 2014 Regarding pornographic anti-Prophet cartoons circulated by Sunil Patel of Ambheta village,
2) 14 December 2014 - 5 January 2015 The attempted Forcible conversion / Ethnic Cleansing of the family of Mohammed Gulam Hafiz Danavala in Katpore village by a Hindu fundamentalist mob. Numerous district wide attacks and threats to the minority community, in particular the villages of Sajod, Ilav and Shera.
3) 14 January 2015 Uttarayan kite-flying incident in Ambheta village, where a Muslim boy was beaten by a Hindu mob, turned into a communal riot.

Casualties

Deaths

It left three people dead.
One victim died on the spot and two died in hospital.
Two men of the majority community,
One person of the minority community, was murdered in the infamous Sunevkhurd village ambulance attack: Where an ambulance under police protection was surrounded and attacked by a mob, resulting in the patient, who had already had his skull hacked open and exposed being left stranded.

Injuries

Multiple victims of both the minority and majority communities.

Destruction/damage to assets including property and livestock

Initially, a shop belonging to a Hindu and a shop belonging to a Muslim were burnt in Hansot. Later on houses of Hindu were burned by rioting mobs.

Aftermath

Families were forced to take refuge in neighbouring Surat district.
Some State police had to fire tear gas to control the mobs.
The cremations took place after police deployed Six companies of the Central Reserve Police Force and one company of the Rapid Action Force in the district.
Afterwards the tension between the parties eased.