Bhainsa in Nirmal district, which had witnessed communal clashes on Sunday night and Monday morning remained peaceful on Tuesday though normalcy did not seem to have returned completely. The local market was closed for the second consecutive day, but supply of fresh vegetables was hit only partially.
Peace descended upon the narrow lanes and bylanes after police made their presence felt by arresting over 40 persons accused of participating in arson and rioting. “More arrests will be made based on video footage identification of the culprits,” asserted Nirmal Superintendent of Police C. Shashidhar Raju even as he led a contingent of policemen marching into the interiors of the old town.
Fragile peace?
Peace, nevertheless, seemed to be fragile, more so given the history of violence in this semi-urban town. The fact that people from both communities continue to harbour mutual distrust makes peace tenuous, according to locals.
A three-company strong Rapid Action Force (RAF) staged a flag march in the violence hit areas of town in the morning driving home the message that the government means business when it comes to restoring peace. Senior police officers including Inspectors General of Police, North Zone Y. Nagi Reddy and CID P. Promod Kumar, Ramagundam Commissioner of Police V. Satyanarayana, Siddipet Commissioner of Police Joel Davis, Adilabad Superintendent of Police Vishnu S. Warrier, Kamareddy SP Shwetha Reddy and Rajanna Sircilla SP Rahul Hegde continued to man police operations in town.
People shop for essentials
Meanwhile, people moved around town freely making purchases of essentials like vegetables. The area around the office of local DSP was abuzz with activity since morning as it lies on a crucial junction between two important sections of town inhabited by the two communities at loggerheads.
The violence, however, looked to dampen the spirit of Sankranthi festival which is usually celebrated with gusto. U. Chandrakanth, a seller of sankranthi muggu (chalk poweder) and colours belonging to Vinayak Nagar locality lamented the losses that looked imminent as his wares remained unsold.