New Delhi: Growing incidents of communal violence in different parts of the country has put the Union Home Ministry on alert and it is trying to ascertain whether these could be viewed as isolated incidents or a deliberate design to whip up tension ahead of general elections.
The Centre has asked all states to step up security in sensitive places and try to put an early end to any incident which has the potential to take on communal colour.
There have been incidents of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh in recent months and in most cases petty incidents lead to riots between communities.
Official sources said the number of such incidents has gone up in recent months and intelligence agencies were asked to find out whether there were planned attempts by organised groups to whip up passion ahead of 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The Home Ministry also advised separately the riot-hit states to intensify vigil in communally-sensitive areas and deploy adequate forces to maintain peace.
The Home Ministry is particularly worried over certain fundamentalist groups often taking advantage of petty incidents and trying to fan passion among communities to create communal tension and advised the states that such attempts should be nipped in the bud.
PTI
