Ranchi: A violent clash broke out between two communities in the Harodia village of Mohanpur police station area on Wednesday over the forcible plucking of jackfruits. Around 14-15 individuals from both sides were injured in the incident.
According to reports, Mohammad Gulfam Ansari from Raghunathpur village went to Harodia village with his friends on his motorcycle. When the bike ran out of fuel, he stopped at a shop owned by Rajendra Yadav in Harodia to buy petrol in a bottle. The shopkeeper charged a small fee for the bottle. After filling petrol into the bike, Gulfam and his friends returned to Harodia to return the bottle. During this time, one of the young men allegedly plucked two jackfruits from a tree in the village.
This act led to a dispute between the shopkeeper and the young men, which quickly escalated into a physical altercation. Both the youth and the shopkeeper were injured in the scuffle.
Following the incident, Gulfam returned to Raghunathpur and shared the details of the confrontation with locals. Hearing this, over 200 individuals from Raghunathpur armed with bricks, stones, and wooden sticks rushed to Harodia to confront the shopkeeper. In response, the people of Harodia came out in support of the shopkeeper, leading to a violent exchange of stones, bricks, and sticks between both sides.
The situation soon spiraled out of control, and someone from the village alerted the Mohanpur Police Station. Station House Officer (SHO) Priyaranjan Kumar immediately reached the scene with a police team to control the situation and calm both sides.
Upon receiving the information, SHO Priyaranjan Kumar informed senior officers including SP Ajit Peter Dungdung, DSP Ashok Kumar Singh, BDO Santosh Kumar Chaudhary, and police station heads from nearby areas such as K.N. Jha, Prashant Kumar from Sonarayathadi Police Station, and Sandeep Kumar from Sarwan Police Station. In no time, hundreds of additional police personnel were deployed to prevent the dispute from escalating further.
A peaceful resolution was reached after a Panchayat (community meeting) was conducted between the two parties. Local MLA Suresh Paswan also arrived at the site and mediated the situation. Both sides agreed to a resolution, and no further complaints were filed with the police by the end of the day.
SHO Priyaranjan Kumar stated that if any formal complaints are received from either side, immediate legal action will be taken. However, the police maintain a vigilant presence in the area to prevent any future conflicts.