Ram Navami violence in Khambhat was pre-planned conspiracy: Gujarat Police

Anand (Gujarat) [India], April 14 : Gujarat Police on Wednesday said that the violence that broke out in the Khambat area of Anand district during the Ram Navami procession was a pre-planned conspiracy.
According to the police, the boys were brought from outside for stone-pelting and they were assured of all kinds of legal and financial help if they were caught by the authorities. It was decided to pelt stones from cemeteries as stones could be easily found there.
A total of nine people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in violence and stone-pelting during the procession.
"As part of a pre-planned conspiracy, stones were hurled during the Ram Navami procession in Khambhat. The motive of the accused was that once the Ram Navami procession was stoned and threatened, no such religious procession would take place in the future. The accused had started planning for the procession after news broke that the Ram Navmi procession was about to start and the entire conspiracy was hatched in the last three days after the procession got police permission," said Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajit Rajiyan of Anand district.
The police said that the six accused hatched the conspiracy as part of a need-to-know-based module/sleeper module.
He said that Maulvi Razak Patel has been named as the mastermind of the conspiracy and is absconding.
"These people were in touch with people from outside the district and abroad for the funds to carry out the conspiracy. The responsibility of raising funds was handed over to Matin. An investigation is currently underway into who helped from outside the state and the country for the funds," said the Anand SP.
"In fact, the way the stones were pelted and the place selected for the pelting of stones, the state intelligence department was suspicious, after which the investigation was started by the state ATS, in which Jamshed Pathan was nabbed and interrogated, he told the security officials about the mastermind, Maulvi Razak Patel," he added.
He further said that Mustakin Maulvi had conspired to stop this Ram Navami Rath Yatra.
"He prepared Wasim and Wajid to face legal action. The money was managed by Matin Alti and his brothers Mohsin and Azad. Apart from this, the boys were arranged by Chintu Farid, Razzak Patel, Akhtar, Naseer and Zahid to stop the procession. Everyone's names are in the FIR except Alti and his brothers," said SP.
Several incidents of stone-pelting between communities were reported in Gujarat's Himmatnagar and Anand districts after which the police fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob.