<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Communal violence broke out in Bahiyal village of Dahegam taluka, Gandhinagar district, on Wednesday night when a dispute over a social media post escalated during Navratri celebrations. It left people injured and property damaged.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Trouble began when a young man from the Hindu community uploaded a WhatsApp status and social media post saying &ldquo;I Love Mahadev,&rdquo; urging others to promote it as an alternative to the ongoing &ldquo;I Love Muhammad&rdquo; campaign.&nbsp;</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The remark provoked anger in the Muslim community, and a group of men targeted the youth&rsquo;s shop. On finding him absent, they forced open the shutters, ransacked the goods, and set them ablaze. Shops, including an Aadhaar Card centre and an electrical outlet, were among those destroyed.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The situation worsened at around 10 pm at a garba venue where families had gathered. Stone-pelting erupted, creating chaos and a stampede. Vehicles parked nearby were also damaged. More than 15 vehicles, including two police vans, were attacked, while seven shops were vandalised and torched.&nbsp;</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Video clips from the area showed residents attempting to extinguish fires, smashed cars, and damaged storefronts.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Superintendent of Police Ravi Teja Vasamsetty said, &ldquo;At around 11 pm, a large group broke open the shutters of the shop belonging to the person who had put up the WhatsApp status. Goods were taken out and set on fire. They then hurled stones at Hindu areas, which led to retaliatory stone-pelting.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Assistant Superintendent of Police Ayush Jain confirmed that 60 people were taken into custody and added, &ldquo;Four shops and five to six vehicles were damaged.&rdquo;</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">To control the mob, police used five tear-gas shells. Senior officials, along with forensic experts, joined the operation. By Thursday morning, more than 100 personnel had been deployed across Bahiyal, and the village was effectively turned into a police camp. Authorities later reported that the situation was under control.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Five civilians and four policemen, including a sub-inspector and a Local Crime Branch officer, sustained injuries. Two police vehicles were attacked, and officers attempting to restore order were also targeted.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">A villager told Benefit News, &ldquo;A mob of 200&ndash;300 came from Ugamna and Morvad areas and vandalised our vehicles. My car was also damaged, with all the windows shattered. Garba was taking place with children, women, and elderly people present, yet stones were hurled, injuring five to six people.&rdquo;</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Police confirmed that about 50 suspects were rounded up immediately after the clashes, with further detentions taking place later. Identification of rioters is ongoing with the help of CCTV footage. Residents have been urged not to post provocative material online and to extend cooperation during the inquiry.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The &ldquo;I Love Muhammad&rdquo; campaign, which originated in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has triggered repeated flashpoints in several states, both online and on the ground.</span></div>

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September 25, 2025 | 22:47 IST