Tensions have reached a peak in the violence in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Clashes broke out in the city on Monday around the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) protests. The protests were demanding the removal of the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. And the protests quickly got out of control. 12 cars were vandalized, shops and vehicles were set on fire in the clashes. Police were attacked, in which 33 police personnel were injured.
The police have arrested 50 people to control the situation. In addition, an FIR has been filed against some leaders of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal for hurting religious sentiments. The police said that CCTV footage and social media posts are being examined to identify many more people involved in the clashes.
According to police sources, there has been no fresh violence in Nagpur. The situation is currently under control. Confirming the matter, city police commissioner Ravindra Kumar Singhal said, "The situation is now peaceful. Curfew has been imposed in about 11 police station areas. The situation is under control. So that there is no fresh violence."
He said that an FIR has been filed at Ganeshpet police station against Govind Shende, in-charge secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad for Maharashtra and Goa, and others for hurting religious sentiments in this incident.
The police said that a total of 5 FIRs have been filed in the violence and strict action will be taken against anyone else involved.
Local people and opposition parties have questioned the inaction of the police. However, the police commissioner denied this allegation. He said, "The police actively tried to control the situation immediately after the clash started. That is why 33 police personnel were injured. If the police had remained inactive, the situation could have worsened," he said.
"Curfew has been imposed in parts of Kotwali, Ganeshpet, Tehsil, Lakadganj, Pachpaoli, Shantinagar, Sakkardara, Nandanban, Imamwara, Yashodharanagar and Kapilnagar under Section 163 of the IPC."
Maharashtra BJP MLA Ram Kadam has blamed Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi for the violence in Nagpur. "Abu Azmi praises Aurangzeb, which creates anger among people. This tension leads to violence."
In contrast, the Congress Party in Maharashtra has held the state government responsible for the violence. In this respect, the state Congress chief, Harshvardhan Sapkal also charged: "Before the violence, some ministers from the BJP made deliberate provocation statements. If the administration had taken precaution from the start, we would not have seen the situation arise to the extent it did." The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, has urged the public to remain calm. He has labeled the violence as a pre-planned conspiracy. He stated, "This was an intentional act, and it appears some person or group has intentionally set out to Is disrupt public order in Nagpur. The administration will enforce extremely strict actions and punish the people responsible."
It is worth noting that the violence started at around 7:30 pm on Monday in the Chitnis Park area of Mahal. Stones were pelted at the police there. Later, the violence spread to Kotwali and Ganeshpet. The violence took a massive turn towards the evening. As a result, a lot of damage was caused.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave a message to the people to remain calm in the incident. At the same time, he accused the violence of being pre-planned. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Congress has spoken out on the incident. DOL's state president Harsh Vardhan Sapkal criticized the state home department and termed the violence as a failure of the administration. He alleged that ministers had deliberately given provocative speeches before the violence.
The clash has spread panic among the common people of Nagpur. Now it remains to be seen how quickly and effectively the administration can bring the culprits to justice and restore normalcy in the city.
