Mehsana, Gujarat, Jan. 23:
A day before the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, tension erupted during the Ram Shobha Yatra in Kheralu on Sunday evening.
In a viral video, the procession, with loudspeakers playing songs and people waving swords, was marching in the presence of the police, which later ignited tension in the district. Stones being pelted by some individuals can also be seen in the video.
“Police fired three tear gas shells to control the situation after stones were pelted at a ‘shobha yatra’ (procession) of Lord Ram on the eve of the idol consecration of the Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya,” reported the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Virendra Singh Yadav, according to PTI.
Per the Indian Express, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Gandhinagar range) Virendra Singh Yadav stated, “Fifteen persons have been rounded up after a combing operation at the site. Police personnel accompanying the Shobha Yatra took immediate action to avert any (further) incident and brought the situation under control. We fired three tear gas shells to control the crowd. The process to register an FIR is ongoing. There have been no casualties, and the situation was brought to normalcy within 10 minutes.”