The riots broke out in central Nagpur on last Monday (March 17) over rumours that a “chadar” with holy inscriptions was burnt during protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajarang Dal, which were demanding the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Marathwada region of the state
Mumbai: Five days after the violence erupted in Nagpur, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday visited the orange city and held a meeting with senior officials including Nagpur Commissioner of Police Ravinder Singal. Mr. Fadnavis, who is the home minister of Maharashtra, said that the government will recover the cost of property damaged during the clashes by the rioters. He also said that if the perpetrators of the violence failed to compensate the damages, the property of the concerned perpetrators will be sold to recover the damages.
The government will also make people, who posted provocative messages on social media, co-accused in the case. The police have identified 68 social media posts, which have been deleted.
The riots broke out in central Nagpur on last Monday (March 17) over rumours that a “chadar” with holy inscriptions was burnt during protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajarang Dal, which were demanding the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Marathwada region of the state. Several houses and shops were vandalised and around a dozen vehicles set on fire in the violence. 33 police including three DCPs were injured in the stone pelting. Following this, the police had imposed the curfew in some sensitive parts of the orange city.
After the meeting with senior police officials, the chief minister said that the government will not sit quiet till the perpetrators are awarded the stern punishment. Mr. Fadnavis said that the police have analysed various videos of riots, including those given by the media.
“We identified the rioters and 104 people have been identified and detained. So far 92 people have been arrested and the remaining 12 are below 18 years (read juveniles). The action has been taken against the juveniles as per the relevant Act. The police action will continue till the last rioters are not arrested in this case,” Mr. Fadanvis said.
Explaining how the damages will be recovered for rioters, the chief minister said, “It has been decided to calculate the damages caused to the properties during the violence. Whatever damage has happened will be recovered from the rioters. If they do not pay the money, then their property will be sold for the recovery..... Under any circumstances, we will not allow anyone to cause damage to the properties of others.”
Mr. Fadanvis also announced that the government will provide monetary assistance to those whose vehicles were damaged in the violence. “As per the rule, we will provide assistance to them in the next seven days,” he said.
The police are also probing if there is any Bangladesh connection. “It appears from the contents of certain social media posts that something is related to Bangladesh. However, at this juncture, it is not appropriate to say that Bangladeshis (people from Bangladesh) are behind this violence or some foreign countries are involved,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
