Violent communal clashes erupted in the heart of Nagpur city following a procession by Hindu right-wing outfits demanding the removal of 17th-century Mughal ruler Aurangzeb라이브 바카라 grave from Maharashtra.
On the occasion of Shiv Jayanti-- birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji as per Hindu tithi-- the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal carried a “Aurangzeb kabar hatao” procession in the Mahal area of Nagpu, triggering violence and
Violent communal clashes erupted in the heart of Nagpur city following a procession by Hindu right-wing outfits demanding the removal of 17th-century Mughal ruler Aurangzeb라이브 바카라 grave from Maharashtra.
On the occasion of Shiv Jayanti-- birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji as per Hindu tithi-- the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal carried a “Aurangzeb kabar hatao” procession in the Mahal area of Nagpur, a stone throw away from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh라이브 바카라 national headquarter.
Local resident Ayaz Firdous (name changed) said in the morning around 11.30 am the procession reached Shivaji라이브 바카라 statue at Gandhi Chowk (square), VHP and Bajrang Dal activists shouted slogans and burned a poster of Aurangzeb wrapped in a green-coloured kalma chadar, usually offered by Muslims in dargahs and tombs.
“It was highly insensitive to burn the holy kalam, especially during the Ramzan season,” Firdous said.
According to VHP Vidarbha Prant Pracharak from Nagpur Prashant Titre, during the procession, a model of the grave including the chadar was lit as a symbolic destruction of Aurangzeb라이브 바카라 mazaar (grave).
The chowk is a busy marketplace and is surrounded by two mosques. Rumours quickly swirled in the area that Hindu activists desecrated the Quran and burnt a holy kalam with religious inscriptions.
By evening, stone pelting, arson and vandalism were reported from Akhtar Road (Kamptee), Hansapuri and Bhaldarpura areas. Reportedly 33 policemen, including 3 DCP level officials and 5 civilians were grievously injured and 12 motorbikes were torched in the violence. In some parts, tear gas was fired to disperse the crowd.
The Nagpur police have filed five different FIR including against the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists for burning the effigy and others related to violence and detained 50 people for questioning.
Additional SRPF troops have been deployed in Nagpur and security is heightened in the jurisdiction of 11 police stations including Kotwali, Ganesh peth, Pachpavli, Nandanvan, Imamvada, Yashodhara Nagar, Kapil nagar, Sakardhar, Lakadganj and Shanti Nagar.
Leaders of the ruling BJP government have blamed the violence on Muslim community. Pravin Datke BJP MLA from Nagpur Central Constituency, said the action was pre-planned and one-sided.
BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, also a Nagpur resident said Hindus and Muslims have always lived in peace in the city, but some deviant elements have deliberately created disturbance.
Speaking in the assembly during the ongoing budget session, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who is from Nagpur and also looks after the home ministry asserted that the pattern of violence in Nagpur was pre-planned and assured to take strict action against all the offenders.
“Those who have attacked the police will not be spared,” Fadnavis said. He added that after the morning procession, there was peace, however, some elements deliberately rekindled violence in the evening.
The mob came out on the streets covering their faces and armed with stones, sticks and sharp objects. Some homes and commercial establishments were selectively targeted.
Fadnavis also alluded that the clashes were a fallout of the recent Chhava movie, on the life of Sambhaji Bhosale, the second emperor of the Maratha empire and eldest son of Shivaji.
The movie라이브 바카라 climax of Sambhaji라이브 바카라 execution and bloody torture by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb has given rise to intense emotional and political sentiment in Maharashtra, where Shivaji and Sambhaji are revered as deities.
“I am not blaming any cinema, but Chhava라이브 바카라 release has incited people라이브 바카라 emotions, and anger against Aurangzeb,” Fadnavis said appealing to all communities to maintain peace and law and order in the coming days in the light of Eid and Ram Navami festival celebrations.
The BJP and radical right-wing Hindu elements have hijacked the success of Chhava and are exacerbating the film라이브 바카라 Hindu vs Islam narrative to fan anti-Muslim politics.
The Mahayuti government temporarily suspended Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi from the legislative, for his contentious statement praising Aurangzeb as a ‘good administrator.’
BJP leaders including Fadnavis have declared that Aurangzeb라이브 바카라 grave should be removed from Khuladabad in Sambhajinagar district in the Marathwada region.
The VHP and Bajrang Dal have launched a long agitation to mobilise Hindu sentiment and threatened to demolish the grave.