After violence erupted in Maharashtra's Nagpur on Monday night amid rumours of burning of a holy book, the authorities have imposed a curfew in several areas of the orange city.
According to the news agency ANI, a curfew has been imposed in the police station limits of Kotwali, Ganeshpeth, Lakadganj, Pachpaoali, Shantinagar, Sakkardara, Nandanvan, Imamwada, Yashodhara Nagar and Kapil Nagar.
According to Commissioner of Police, Nagpur, Ravinder Kumar Singal, the curfew will remain in force until further orders.
Nagpur (Maharashtra) violence | Curfew has been imposed in the Police station limits of Kotwali, Ganeshpeth, Lakadganj, Pachpaoali, Shantinagar, Sakkardara, Nandanvan, Imamwada, Yashodhara Nagar and Kapil Nagar in Nagpur city. This curfew will remain in force until further… pic.twitter.com/N3CqzKcMv1
Around 50 rioters were taken into police custody. Several police officers, including Deputy Commissioner of Police Nagpur Archit Chandak, sustained injuries in the violence.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Nitin Gadkari have urged people to maintain peace and harmony following the violence.
How rumours of holy book desecration fuelled Nagpur violence?
Initially, violence erupted in the Chitnis Park area in Mahal on Monday around 7.30 pm with stones hurled at police amid rumours that the holy book of a community was burnt during a demonstration by right-wing groups seeking the removal of the tomb of Aurangzeb, leaving six persons and some policemen injured, news agency PTI reported.
Another clash broke out in the Hansapuri area near the Old Bhandara Road between 10:30 pm to 11:30 pm. An unruly mob burnt cars and bikes, and vandalised houses and a clinic in the area. The police initially resorted to baton charges, but when the situation escalated, they fired tear gas shells.
Maharashtra Minority Commission Chairman Pyare Khan described the violence as "very unfortunate," urging people to maintain peace. He claimed that the perpetrators were outsiders and had come to disrupt the city's communal harmony.
Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal criticized the state home department, calling the violence a failure of the administration. He said ministers had been "deliberately making provocative speeches" in the days leading up to the unrest.
