Two cops injured in Maharashtra as protest turns violent
In Nanded, stones were pelted at police vans and two police personnel sustained injuries at Deglur Naka and Shivaji Nagar. Protestors were also seen torching shops and police vehicles in Malegaon and Amravati, following which the riot squad was called in to quell the protests.
Two policemen were injured after incidents of stone-pelting by the mob during protests against recent violence in Tripura were reported in Nashik, Amravati and Nanded districts of Maharashtra on Friday, the police said.
In Nanded, stones were pelted at police vans and two police personnel sustained injuries at Deglur Naka and Shivaji Nagar. Protestors were also seen torching shops and police vehicles in Malegaon and Amravati, following which the riot squad was called in to quell the protests.
Shambhuraj Desai, minister of state for home, said that the police was directed to take strict action against the people responsible for instigating the violence. “I have spoken to senior police officials and have asked them to take strict action against people behind the violence. We have alerted the police administration against anti-social elements. The situation is under control,” he said.
In Malegaon, a communally sensitive town in Nashik district, protestors, many of whom were Muslim, the police said, had gathered to protest against the treatment of the community in Tripura, where on October 26, a mosque, few houses and shops were reportedly vandalised by members of the right-wing group, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, during a rally.
In Amravati, over 8,000 people gathered outside the district collector’s office to submit a memorandum demanding that atrocities against the minority community should be stopped, the PTI reported. When people were leaving after submitting the memorandum, stone-pelting took place at three places between Chitra Chowk and Cotton Market, a police official told PTI.
In Amravati’s Kotwali police station, First Information Reports (FIR) has been lodged, naming hundreds of protesters. “No permission was given to the protest rally. We are registering a case against the protesters and action would be taken accordingly,” said Vikram Sali, DCP, Amravati.
The protests that took place in other parts of the state, including Hingoli and Bhiwandi, stayed peaceful. Religious and political outfits had called for a peaceful bandh — to shut local establishments and shops — on Friday, following which memorandums were to be submitted to the district collectors of the various districts. The call was supported by the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Samajwadi Party in Bhiwandi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in opposition in the state, has demanded strict action. “Banking on the alleged incidents in Tripura, the protests staged in various parts of the state took a violent turn. The state government needs to take immediate steps to keep the situation under control,” the leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said.