Muzaffarnagar remained tense on Id-ul-Azha after unidentified persons threw pieces of meat at a place of worship at Barla village on Saturday.
The incident comes even as the sensitive town marked the third anniversary of the bloody communal riots of 2013.Last week three people were injured and two bikes burnt in a communal clash in a Muzaffarnagar village after a minor fight over harassment of a woman snowballed.
Reinforcements sent
The police have deployed extra security and PAC personnel in Barla after news of the desecration spread .
The Sub-divisional Magistrate, Muzaffarnagar Sadar, Sheetal Prasad Gupta, told The Hindu that the matter came to light on Saturday afternoon.
“Some of the villagers noticed that the gate of the religious place was open and when they went inside, they found meat and blood. Before it could create much tension, we cleaned the area,” he said.
When the SDM reached in the village, which falls under Chhapar police station, along with the Circle Officer Yogendra Singh they had to face protests by a crowd which had gathered outside the religious place.
“The intention was obviously to provoke people, given that followers of two different religions live side-by-side here,” Mr. Singh said.
The villagers and the local BJP and RSS leaders demanded immediate action. Dinesh Tyagi, the local RSS, leader demanded that the police arrest the culprits and the stringent National Securities Act be slapped on them.
The village and its outskirts remained tense as the villagers staged a protest at the police station. The police took a the complaint from the villagers and promised to register an FIR.
“The situation was tense but under control. To ensure peace and law and order, we have deployed PAC personnel and extra police force in the village,” Circle Officer Yogendra Singh said.