Mumbai: Maharashtra Samajwadi Party leader and Assembly Speaker Shaikh has appealed for peace regarding the Nagpur violence and said that the peace of Maharashtra has been disturbed due to the statements of ministers and leaders spreading religious hatred. Therefore, I appeal with folded hands that everyone should avoid rhetoric to maintain peace and order.

He said that what happened in Nagpur yesterday is now under control here. Investigation of the case has also been started. The kind of atmosphere being created in Maharashtra had the danger of violence, in such a situation violence broke out in Nagpur.

He said that to maintain peace and order, an appeal has been made to all parties and all party leaders for peace.

Mumbai: Terming the Nagpur violence as a well-planned conspiracy in the Maharashtra Assembly, the state’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the situation was peaceful in the morning, but by evening, well-planned police violence broke out and the situation worsened. To control it, the police had to resort to lathicharge and tear gas shells. Now the situation is peaceful. He said that those who take the law into their own hands will not be tolerated, no matter which caste they belong to. He said that strict action will also be taken against those who attack the police, but the way violence took place in Nagpur, it was pre-planned and stones were carried in trolleys and weapons were also collected. The police have also recovered weapons.

Chief Minister Fadnavis has warned in the House that the miscreants who disturbed the peace of Nagpur will not be forgiven. He said that the situation in Nagpur is now peaceful and an alert has been issued in the limits of all police stations, as well as curfew is also in force. He said that on March 17 at 11:30 am, Vishwa Hindu Parishad Bajrang Dal activists protested in Nagpur demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb. Not only this, the protesters also set fire to a symbolic grave. It was told that during the burning, Kalma Tayyaba chaadar was also burnt, after which the situation deteriorated at 7:30 pm and sloganeering started outside the mosque and the police was also attacked.

He said that the police have registered 5 FIRs in this case, while a case was registered in the Ganesh Peth police station in the morning against the protest held by Vishwa Hindu Parishad under the Police Act including 114 and 299, despite which violence was spread. He said that a DCP was attacked with an axe. Fadnavis alleged that this violence is the result of an organized conspiracy, so action will be taken against such miscreants and they will not be spared. He said that no one is allowed to take the law into their own hands. Attacking the police is unacceptable. It is accepted that the police maintain law and order and in such a situation their security is a responsibility.

He said that there are festivals of all religions and all religions should maintain brotherhood. Although the police have brought out the facts and there is anger among the followers of Aurangzeb, but law and order will not be allowed to deteriorate in Maharashtra and if anyone tries to incite violence, action will be taken against him without any discrimination of religion or caste and he will not be spared.

Nagpur/Mumbai, March 18: As various parts of Nagpur remain under curfew following communal tension over the Aurangzeb tomb controversy, it has been learnt that the unrest began in the early hours of Monday in Mahal, one of the oldest localities of the city.

The Police prevented the chaos from deepening into communal strife but as the evening set in, the ‘charged atmosphere’ in some localities resulted in wide-scale violence by the mob.

Senior-rank police officers including 3 DCPs and 1 SP were injured in stone-pelting and vandalism incidents, while more than 32 vehicles were set ablaze by the mob, which apparently got instigated over the reported desecration of ‘chadar’ with holy texts written on it.

According to the police report, the violence didn’t happen all of a sudden. The tensions simmered since morning and reached a boiling point with the onset of dusk.

Here is a detailed break-up of how the communal unrest happened.

Initial reports attributed the violence in parts of Nagpur to rumours of the desecration of a holy book, during a demonstration by Hindu outfit members demanding the removal of Mughal ruler Aurganzeb’s tomb in the Khuldabad area.

media is in possession of the police report, which narrates the chain of events and ‘triggers’ leading to communal unrest and violence.

As per the Nagpur police report, a group of locals had assembled in the Mahal area at around 11.30 a.m. to protest against the alleged sacrilege of the holy chadar, however, they were denied permission and also persuaded by the cops to return.

The gathering of the Muslim community was followed by a demonstration by VHP and Bajrang Dal members on Monday morning, who raised slogans against the Mughal ruler and called for razing of the Aurangzeb’s tomb.

The police also booked some of these protestors from the Hindu outfits under Section 227, Section 37 (1) (3) and Section 229.

The unrest that started in the morning, erupted into alarming proportions after the noon namaz, at around 1.30 p.m.

About 200-250 Muslims gathered near Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in Nagpur’s Mahal area, where police personnel were already present.

They claimed that the VHP and Bajran Dal supporters had burnt a ‘chadar’ (green cloth) with sacred verses written on it. With tempers rising on both sides, the situation could have escalated into a serious communal flare-up but the police intervened and prevented the crowd from going on rampage.

Following this, leaders from the Muslim community lodged a complaint with the police station and were given assurance by the top cop of stringent action on the ‘rogue elements’, responsible for hurting their religious beliefs.

However, the situation again turned volatile as more than 200 people, from the specific community, with their faces covered and armed with rods, hit the streets in the Hansapuri area and went on a rampage, torching vehicles and vandalizing public properties.

The mob of protesters not only raised provocative slogans but also pelted stones at shops and houses in the area.

According to police reports, more than a dozen vehicles were torched and many shops vandalized by the mob.

A communal flare-up was reported from Tehsil Agrasen Chowk, where the members of two communities engaged in slogan-shouting and stone-pelting. A person was injured in stone-pelting while many vehicles were burnt and damaged.

In the Ganesh Peth area also, hooligans and vandals run amok on the streets and pelted stones at the police personnel. Attempts were also made to set the police vehicles on fire. Police tried to disperse the crowd but they came under attack by the stone-pelters.

According to police inputs, at least one crane, 2 JCBs, 3 cars, and more than 20 motorcycles were burnt while public properties were damaged by the unruly mob.

More than 47 protesters have been taken into custody so far. Many police officials including senior officers to the rank of DCP and SP were injured in violence by the mob. At least 33 policemen are reported to have suffered injuries, with 14-15 suffering serious injuries.

The Nagpur police have also launched a massive manhunt to apprehend the stone pelters and vandals, who attacked the police and fire brigade personnel. A huge contingent of SRPF and RAF personnel remains deployed in sensitive zones to keep the situation under control and prevent any further flare-ups.

Meanwhile, the areas of Nagpur where curfew has been imposed include Kotwali, Ganeshpeth, Lakadganj, Pachpaoali, Shantinagar, Sakkardara, Nandanvan, Imamwada, Yashodhara Nagar and Kapil Nagar.

People have been asked to stay indoors and not pay heed to rumours.