Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The traditional ‘Hingot' war could not be organised in Gautampura this year due to alertness on part of the cops who maintained a strict vigil. However, the people reportedly threw hingot from their houses just after the police left the area on Friday night. Police claimed that they were deployed till late in the night and no one was there on the ground where the traditional Hingot war is played out.
Hingot war takes place on a ground near Gautampura village, about 60 kilometres from Indore, could not be organised this year due to the restrictions from district administration.
Gautampura police station in-charge Bharat Singh Thakur said that he along with police force was deployed on the ground from 5 pm to 11 pm. Some people reached there but the police explained about the situation after which they left.
Sources claimed that after police left the ground, some people started throwing hingots from the terrace of their houses. Police said that they didn’t receive any complaint or information about the same.
According to the convention the Hingot war takes place on Dhok Padwa, a day after Diwali, when people of Gautampura and Runji villages hurl hingots at one another. Before the battle, they seek blessings of the local deity. The two teams then assemble on either side of the ground where they are welcomed like warriors on the battlefield and then they attack their rivals with ‘Hingots’ (a hollow fruit stuffed with gunpowder).
‘Warriors’ from each side fend off these flaming missiles with the help of shields, even as hundreds watch this annual event with blazing hingots catching its target unawares. Besides the ‘soldiers’ (players), many a time spectators also get injured as they do not have any protective shields. The police have refrained from filing any case since it is a traditional sporting event.
