Maharashtra Junior Minister for Home (Urban) Yogesh Kadam on Tuesday morning said that the police had detained 47 people in the aftermath of the violence that took place in Nagpur amid the demands for the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb.
He said that nearly 12 to 14 police personnel have suffered injuries, while two to three civilians have also been injured. He added that the reason behind the violence has not been found yet, but the same was being investigated.
"The reason behind the violence has not been found yet. 47 people have been detained so far. 12-14 police personnel were injured in the incident. Some of them are suffering from ligament tear. Two to three civilians also received injuries," Kadam told reporters.
The minister said that the entire issue was resolved yesterday afternoon when the police registered FIRs. Kadam added that strict action would be taken against the group that came out and carried out vandalisation hours after the earlier matter was resolved.
"We will find the reason behind the incident. The entire matter was resolved in the afternoon after the police station registered the FIRs. However, after five to six hours of gap, a group took to vandalism. Stringent action will be taken on those who took the law into their hands," he added.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat on Tuesday morning called for the country's people to "stay together in harmony."
She said that the public must understand facts and not pay heed to rumours.
"There are some people in the country who take advantage. I appeal to the public to understand the facts and not pay attention to rumours and to stay together harmoniously," Sehrawat told ANI.
BJP MLA Pravin Datke reached the violence-hit area of Hansapuri this morning and asserted that this incident was "pre-planned". He said that the vandalisation of shops and stalls and the destruction of cameras were indicative of the same.
"This is all a pre-planned matter. If there were two shops each of Muslims and Hindus, only the latter was affected. There's a (roadside) stall that belongs to a Muslim. Nothing happened to it. However, another stall that belonged to an elderly lady was damaged. The cameras were destroyed. It indicates that this thing was planned," Datke told ANI.
Questioning the delay, the BJP MLA slammed the police administration for not standing with the citizens. Datke suspected that a large part of the mob came outside (from the other neighbourhoods).
"I have to say that the Police were not standing with the Hindu citizens here. I don't know the reason behind it. A large part of the mob came from the outside...If the Police don't take action, the Hindus will be forced to take the next step. This is all I want to say," the MLA from Nagpur Central said.
A curfew has been imposed in multiple areas of Nagpur city under Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) following tensions over the demand to remove Aurangzeb's grave, read an official Maharashtra police notification. According to the official order issued by Nagpur Police Commissioner Ravinder Kumar Singal, the restrictions will remain in place until further notice.
The curfew applies to police station limits in Kotwali, Ganeshpeth, Tehsil, Lakadganj, Pachpaoli, Shantinagar, Sakkardara, Nandanvan, Imamwada, Yashodharanagar, and Kapilnagar.
As stated in the order, on March 17, around 200 to 250 members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal gathered near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Mahal, Nagpur, to support removing Aurangzeb's grave. The protesters raised slogans demanding the grave's removal and displayed a symbolic green cloth filled with cow dung cakes.
Later, at 7:30 pm, around 80 to 100 people reportedly gathered in Bhaldarpura, creating tension and disrupting law and order. The order notes that the gathering caused distress to the public and affected the movement of people on the roads. The order stated that the police had imposed a "communication ban (curfew)" in affected areas under Section 163 to prevent further incidents and maintain peace.
"During the lockdown period, no person should go out of the house for any reason other than medical reasons, nor should more than five people gather inside it. Also, orders are passed to prohibit spreading any kind of rumour, prohibiting doing all such acts," the order read.
The police have been authorised to close roads in affected areas to maintain law and order. Anyone violating the curfew "remains punishable under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)."
However, the order clarifies that it "will not be applicable to police officers/employees on duty as well as government/administrative officers/employees, students appearing for essential services, and persons related to the fire brigade and various departments."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
