A local court in Nagpur has sent 17 people arrested in connection with Monday's violence in the city to police custody till March 22, PTI confirmed.
The accused were produced before Magistrate Maimuna Sultana on Thursday night, where the police sought their seven-day custody.
The persons have been arrested in connection with an FIR registered by the Ganeshpeth police.
The court in its order said the offences levelled against the accused were “serious in nature” and hence their custodial interrogation was required.
It said that since the violence involved a mob, it would not be possible for the police to determine the specific role of each accused at this stage.
In its order, the court said that the investigation in the case was at an initial stage and a detailed probe was yet to be completed. Assistant Public Prosecutor Megha Burunge said that custodial interrogation of the accused was needed to unearth the masterminds and main culprits of the crime.
She further said the accused had created terror among citizens and had also assaulted a few police personnel.
The lawyers of the accused, however, opposed the police claims and said no specific role was attributed to the arrested persons and even the charge of criminal conspiracy is not included in the case.
They also alleged that police had randomly arrested individuals without any evidence.
Large-scale stone pelting and arson were reported in several parts of Nagpur on Monday evening after rumours began circulating about a ‘chadar’ with holy inscriptions being burnt during protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad seeking the removal of Aurangzeb라이브 바카라 tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.
Thirty-three police personnel, including three DCP rank officers, were injured.
Police have booked Fahim Khan, key accused in the violence, and five others on charges of sedition and spreading misinformation on social media.
(With Agency Inputs)
