The Fadnavis-led government has appealed for the maintenance of peace and harmony. The police are looking at the videos and CCTV footage to identify more suspects.
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As it happened in Nagpur
For the past 10 days, since the Maharashtra assembly session began, various leaders from the ruling Mahayuti have been speaking out about the tomb of Aurangzeb, located in Khuldabad in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, previously Aurangabad.
Cabinet minister Nitesh Rane had suggested a “Babri Masjid-type” action in the assembly, asking Hindutva outfits to do their duty while the government fulfils its responsibilities.
Amid the controversy over his comment, Fadnavis said that since the tomb was under the Archaeological Survey of India’s protection, the government was bound to give it protection. However, he added that he would not tolerate any glorification of Aurangzeb.
Following the Hindu calendar, Hindutva outfits observing the 17 March Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti staged statewide protests demanding the demolition of Aurangzeb’s tomb.
In Nagpur, VHP and Bajrang Dal workers protested roughly at 11.30 am. Mahal, where they congregated, has a mix of Hindus and Muslims.
Speaking to ThePrint about the spark that lit the fire, Prafulla Gudadhe, a Congress leader, said a ‘mazar’ where people offer ‘chadar’ stands in the Mahal area. “The uniqueness of that ‘mazar’ was that both Hindus and Muslims go there to offer ‘chadar’. It could be clothes, flowers, anything. This is the tradition here,” said Gudadhe. “However, then the VHP and Bajrang Dal workers took a chadar of green colour—which had some holy inscriptions written on it—and burnt it, along with Aurangzeb’s effigy.”
Some Muslims objected to the ‘chadar’ burning, but they went unheard.
Talking about the incident, VHP leader Milind Parande refuted all claims. In a media statement, he said, “It is an absolutely baseless charge that Hindu community burnt ‘aayats’. Instead, they (Muslims) should be charged for inciting violence.”
The Nagpur Commissioner of Police (CP), however, confirmed videos of the ‘chadar’ burning to ThePrint.
According to local leaders, when Muslims went to the police station to register an offence, the police did not act swiftly.
Gudadhe said the Muslims even produced video evidence of what had happened, but the police took a long time to register the offence.
Speaking to ThePrint, Nagpur CP Ravinder Singal said, “The delegation of people met me, and I assured them of action. The police noted the offence. But, meanwhile, a mob had gathered in the Mahal area, and clashes happened in the evening.”
On Tuesday, Fadnavis said in the assembly that the police registered an offence against the protesters [from the Hindutva outfits] at 3.09 pm under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 299 (offences related to religion), 37(1) (no right to private defence), and 31(3) (no communication made in good faith is an offence).
It was calm till Monday evening, but the news about the ‘chadar’ burning spread on social media, with a mob of 200-300 people gathering in Hansapuri. The mob, Fadnavis said, started stone pelting, using lathis, and chanting slogans. “So, the police used force,” he added.
This second bout of violence left 12 vehicles damaged.
In a third incident in the Bhagalpur area, a mob of 80-100 people attacked the police, who, in turn, used teargas and force, Fadnavis informed. The violence continued from 7.30-11.30 pm in different parts of Nagpur.
Officers said the violence affected the Chitnis Park to Shukrawari Talao road belt the most.
“Nagpur has remained peaceful all this time, post-Babri Masjid demolition. The unity was strong in the city. A Ram temple stands in the hardcore Muslim area, but the Ram [Navami] procession goes peacefully annually. Even during Eid, Hindus greet Muslims. This has been the tradition in Nagpur,” said Gudadhe.
However, BJP MLA Pravin Datke, while accusing rioters of targeting only Hindu establishments and houses, questioned the police delay in controlling the riots.
“I have to say the police were not standing with the Hindu citizens. I do not know the reason for this. The police came half an hour after I phoned the Nagpur CP. There was a delay in police action,” said Datke, speaking to the media.
Even AIMIM’s Shakib ur Rehman questioned the police intelligence.
“When the mob had gone to complain, the police became aware of what was happening. They [the police] monitor social media continuously. Then, how could they not prevent this from happening?” said Rehman.
However, Singhal refuted both Rehman’s and Datke’s comments.
“They might have put it that way, but our force was there trying to control the situation. If anyone was injured, it was the police. That is why 33 police personnel were injured because we were at the forefront. The police did their job well,” said Singhal, speaking to the media.
He further said with construction underway in the area, the rioters could pick up stones and bricks easily.
Opposition blames Mahayuti
The Opposition has questioned the law and order in the state.
Speaking to reporters outside the state assembly, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, “Where was the Home department, intelligence, CM office when all this unfolded? It [clashes] happened inside the CM’s city. He should have taken care of the law and order. They want to make a Manipur of Maharashtra.”
Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal blamed ruling party MLAs.
“For the past few days, ruling party MLAs have been giving provocative speeches, which was disturbing the social harmony. It looks like their efforts were finally successful in Nagpur. The state has major issues, such as inflation, unemployment, etc. It (the state government) did not even fulfil the promise of increased payments under the ‘ladki bahin‘ scheme. To divert attention, the ruling party MLAs are giving provocative speeches,” said Sapkal.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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