Indore : Many persons were injured as people of two villages hurled ‘hingots’ (firecracker balls) at one another during the traditional ‘hingot war’ at Gautampura on Thursday.
While police claimed that 25 persons were injured in the battle, sources put the figure at over 100.
“As per our knowledge 25 persons participating in the hingot war were actually injured.
There were many others who sustained minor injuries but they were not counted among the injured,” Gautampura police station in-charge HK Pawar said.
Some of the injured persons were admitted to MY Hospital from where they were discharged after primary treatment.
Like every year, the district administration and police failed to prevent people from participating in the ‘war’ that took place risking human lives in the name of tradition.
The hingot war, reminiscent of the traditional war of ancient days, takes place on ‘Dhok Padwa’, a day after Diwali, when people of Gautampura and Runji towns hurl firecrackers at one another. Before the battle, the participants seek blessings of the local deity.
The two teams then assemble on either side of the ground where they are welcomed like warriors on a battlefield and then they attack the rivals with hingots.
‘Warriors’ from each side fend off these flaming missiles with the help of shields, even as hundreds watch this annual event with the blazing hingot catching its target unawares.
This year, over 100 people sustained injuries. Pawar said that the condition of one person, who sustained injuries near his eye, was critical while the rest were discharged from the hospital after primary treatment. Besides the ‘soldiers’ (players), many spectators were also injured since they did not have protective shields.
The police have, however, refrained from filing any case since it is a traditional sporting event. However, they seized some hingots from people who were selling them on the footpath.
Pawar said that he had requested the villagers not to participate in the ‘hingot war’ but to no avail. This so-called traditional war injured 300 people and disabled many in the last five years.
