Nagpur violence: More than 50 suspects detained, 5 FIRs filed, say police

More than 50 suspects have been “taken into custody” and five first information reports have been registered in connection with the violence that broke out in Nagpur on Monday night, PTI quoted Police Commissioner Ravinder Singal as saying on Tuesday.

The police are still identifying persons who had allegedly damaged public property, Singal told ANI.

Thirty-three police personnel were injured in the clashes on Monday, he said, adding that the situation in the violence-affected areas was now peaceful.

The communal clashes broke out on Monday night hours after Hindutva groups held a protest in the city demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb located in Khuldabad near Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

The violence erupted in central Nagpur’s Chitnis Park at 7.30 pm. Stones were thrown at the police amid rumours that a cloth with the Islamic declaration of faith had been burnt during an agitation by a Hindutva group in the late afternoon.

The Indian Express quoted unidentified office-bearers of the Hindutva group Bajrang Dal as saying that its members had only burnt an effigy of Aurangzeb during the protest.

A complaint was filed at the Ganeshpeth police station in the evening alleging desecration of the cloth with the Islamic declaration of faith, the newspaper reported.

Another clash erupted in the Hansapuri, an area close to Chitnis Park, between 10.30 pm and 11.30 pm, according to reports. The violence also spread to Kotwali and Ganeshpeth areas.

The police...

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