Former Maharashtra Minister Anil Bonde Among 70 Arrested for Amravati Violence
Police have reportedly registered 26 FIRs, 15 for Saturday’s violence and 11 for Friday’s incidents.
advertisement
Seventy people have been arrested for the violence that rocked Maharashtra's Amravati town during a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-sponsored bandh, The Indian Express reported, quoting police officials.
BJP leader and ex-Agriculture Minister Anil Bonde as well as 10 other BJP party workers, including the mayor, were among those arrested for rioting on Monday, 15 November.
The BJP had called the bandh to protest against the violence that broke out in Nashik, Amravati, and Nanded on Friday, 12 November, during the state-wide demonstrations and rallies by Raza Academy and other Muslim organisations.
Meanwhile, eight BJP activists have been detained in Warud and Shendurjanaghat villages for raising slogans, reported news agency PTI.
Minority Muslim Community Targeted, Says Police Official
The Indian Express reported, quoting officials, that shops owned by the minority Muslim community were targeted during the rally on Saturday.
A police official said that activists of the BJP, Bajrang Dal, Vishva Hindu Parishad, and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had gathered at Rajkamal Chowk and turned violent, burning shops.
"Almost all the victims are from the minority community. It appears that the violence had been planned a day in advance in retaliation for the violence on Friday by some members of the minority community,” a police official told The Indian Express.
Curfew, Internet Suspension in Amravati
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, 14 November, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said that curfew has been imposed for four days.
"The curfew has been imposed for four days, it has also been ordered to shut the internet services so that rumours are not spread," Walse Patil said, according to news agency ANI.
According to The Indian Express, there were minor clashes on Saturday night between the two communities despite heavy police presence.
However, the situation in Amravati was peaceful on Sunday, with eight battalions of the SRPF (State Reserve Police Force) and many police personnel deployed in the city, district guardian minister Yashomati Thakur told the media.
Thakur also said that the police took out a march on Sunday evening in sensitive areas of Amravati city.
(With inputs from PTI and The Indian Express.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)