The East Singhbhum police registered an FIR Monday after the communal violence erupted in Jamshedpur’s Kadma area Sunday evening over the alleged desecration of a Ram Navami flag. The police said bricks were pelted and makeshift shops and a few vehicles were set ablaze by the mob after which they detained a few people.

According to the police, tension had been brewing in the area since Saturday night when members of a local organisation found a piece of meat rolled into a Ram Navami flag. Several Hindu organisations protested and demanded that the police arrest the culprits within 24 hours.

Kadma police station in-charge Gaurav Kumar said, “We have registered an FIR, and we have detained a few. We will be arresting the culprits shortly.”

Although authorities imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC in the locality Sunday evening and shut the internet across the town, local residents alleged the police did not act proactively even though the tension was simmering.

A local resident wishing anonymity pinned the blame on the lack of police and the administration’s proactiveness to resolve the issue given the communal tension a week ago during the Ram Navami procession. “The Ram Navami flag was desecrated Saturday in Shastrinagar. The Hindu community had protested saying if there was no action taken against the perpetrators then there will be protests,” said the resident.

“A peace committee meeting was called comprising both communities in which lower rank police personnel participated, however, the matter could not be sorted. Even on Sunday evening, a few locals wanted to apprise the police of probable violence but officers could not be reached,” the resident added.

The situation turned violent on Sunday evening when a shop was gutted leading to brick-batting from both sides. A mob also set on fire an autorickshaw, forcing the police to fire tear gas shells in Kadma area, a residential area where Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta also lives.

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While the SSP East Singhbhum said everything is ‘under control’, Jharkhand DGP Ajay Singh told The Indian Express: “If there has been any negligence, even by the police, the matter will be investigated.”

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East Singhbhum District Deputy Commissioner Vijaya Jadhav said some anti-social elements are trying to disturb the peace and sought cooperation from the citizens to foil their plot. “We have been keeping a strict vigil on the situation and deployed adequate police force, a Quick Response Team, a Magistrate, Rapid Action Force personnel and other anti-riot resources to maintain law and order,” Jadhav said in a statement.

Four FIRs were registered in connection with the stone-pelting at Haldipokhar in the Potka block of the East Singhbhum district on March 31 evening during a Ram Navami procession. Two FIRs were registered at the instance of the police and one each on complaints from the communities concerned. There was some sloganeering and stone pelting and a few people had sustained injuries.

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Sources in the police said the route the Ram Navami procession took through the Haldipokhar area was not authorised.