Bhadrak

Showcasing communal harmony, Muslim community members participated in the Ram Navami procession in the Bhadrak area of Odisha on Thursday.

Gulmaki Dalawzi Habib, Chairperson, of Bhadrak Municipality said, "We are here to welcome the Shobha Yatra. I wish everyone a happy Ram Navami. Everyone is happy and we are celebrating it together here."

Ram Navami is a Hindu festival celebrated to honour the birth of Lord Vishnu's incarnation, Lord Rama. This day marks the end of the nine-day Chaitra-Navratri celebrations, which are celebrated in the Hindu month of Chaitra which falls on the cusp of spring and summer. Clashes were witnessed in some places of the country during the processions including Gujarat's Vadodara, West Bengal's Howrah, and Mumbai's Malvani area.

"Tension prevailed for some time during the Ram Navami procession in Mumbai's Malvani area but the police handled it and the situation is under control," DCP Ajay Bansal said on Thursday.

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Some of the participants alleged stone pelting, which created panic among people, DCP Bansal added. Meanwhile, officials said on Friday that at least 22 people have been caught for allegedly pelting stones during a procession in the Fatehpura area of Vadodara.

A man was reportedly injured in the stone pelting incident that took place on Thursday on the occasion of Ram Navami. West Bengal Police on Thursday conducted a flag march in Howrah where violence broke out during a Ram Navami procession. During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire.