Maharashtra: More Than Ten Incidences Of Communal tensions Over 3 Day Period
A police officer stated on Tuesday that during the past three days, at least 12 cases involving communal tensions had been reported in six different districts of Maharashtra, including Kolhapur and Ahmednagar.
A 29-year-old Kolhapur man has been detained on suspicion of encouraging hatred between two communities after it was claimed that he posted a photo of Tipu Sultan with the phrase “Bharat Ka Raja” on social media.
Violence broke out last week in the districts of Kolhapur and Ahmednagar in response to social media posts about the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and the 18th-century ruler of the Mysuru state, Tipu Sultan.
“We have registered offences against six persons over the last two days in Kolhapur, Ahmednagar and Nashik districts and arrested one of them from Kolhapur,” the official said.
A 22-year-old man from Parner in the Ahmednagar area was one of the six men. He was the subject of a case stemming from a social media post. Four other people from Uttar Pradesh were accused of instigating enmity between two groups at Malegaon in the Nashik district. Charges were filed against them.
The four were attending a Malegaon job counselling session for college students when, according to the police official, they allegedly began discussing their religious beliefs.
He added that no arrests were made in this instance and that they were booked under section 295 (A) (deliberate and malicious conduct, intended to outrage the sentiments of any class by insulting its religion or its beliefs) and other pertinent provisions of the Indian Criminal Code.
The police have filed four complaints and detained 41 people in Kolhapur, where Internet connections were shut down for 31 hours last week.
Four people were charged in Ahmednagar after they were discovered carrying an Aurangzeb poster during a march in the Fakirwada neighbourhood of Sangamner.
Two days later, a stone-pelting incident during a gathering sponsored by a Hindu group was reported.
There were tensions in the area on Monday as a result of a 17-year-old teenager from Kasbe Digras hamlet in the Sangli district allegedly using an image of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s rival Afzal Khan as his display photo on WhatsApp with the phrase “Baap to baap hota hain.”
The officer stated that a case had been filed against him under IPC section 298 (uttering remarks with the intent to offend religious sentiments), but no arrest had been made.
A gang of unidentified individuals then threw rocks at a mosque in the hamlet. According to him, a FIR was filed against more than ten people under relevant IPC sections, including rioting.
On Monday morning, a group of unidentified individuals is accused of throwing red paint at a Muslim community place of worship in Pusegaon, Satara district.
According to the official, a charge under IPC section 295 (A) (hurting religious sensibilities) was filed against them.
In the early hours of Monday morning, within the boundaries of the Wathar police station in the Satara district, a mob of over 40 people attacked the home of a Muslim man who was accused of sharing Tipu Sultan’s image on social media.
According to the official, Akhil Maqsood Patel, his mother, and father were all severely beaten during the attack.
According to him, riots and assault were also reported in this case.
Unknown individuals vandalised a Muslim ‘pirsthan’ (shrine) close to Sajjangad in the Satara tehsil. On Monday, the event was discovered, and a lawsuit was filed, the officer stated.
He added that a complaint was also opened on Monday in Tumsar, Bhandara district, for a derogatory Facebook post.
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