Nagpur:
Houses were vandalised and vehicles were torched, recounted the residents of Nagpur, narrating how the violence unfolded last night after calls by a right-wing outfit to remove the tomb of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. Eyewitnesses claimed the police did not arrive on time and a BJP lawmaker accused them of abandoning “Hindu citizens” in the violence.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had staged a protest earlier in the day demanding that Aurangzeb’s tomb be removed from its site in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. During their demonstrations yesterday, a photo of the Mughal ruler was burnt – it was wrapped in a green colour cloth that “symbolised his grave”. This reportedly led to rumours that sacred verses were written on the cloth, sparking tension in the area.
Violence broke out around 7:30 pm at Chitnis Park in central Nagpur, during which stones were thrown at the police and several people were injured.
A mob entered the Old Hislop College area near Chitnis Park and vandalised four cars and houses, some residents told news agency PTI. They also threw stones at homes and broke the windows before fleeing.
The residents later arranged for water to save their burning vehicles.
Another clash was reported from the Hansapuri area hours later with residents recounting that a mob torched their vehicles and vandalised houses and a clinic.
A curfew was later imposed in parts of Nagpur to ban large gatherings.
Read: Aurangzeb’s Unremarkable Tomb Sparks A Massive Storm
‘They Barged Into A House’
Sharad Gupta, who runs a grocery store in the violence-hit area, said he had just closed his shop around 10:30 pm and sat down to eat when loud noises rattled him.
“I saw cars were being pushed out and set on fire. Three people barged into a house but ran away when the residents screamed. They attacked me with stones when I came with a water hose to douse the fire. I called the police multiple times, but they came after the culprits ran away,” he told news agency ANI.
Chandrakant Kawde, another resident, said the culprits first broke the CCTV cameras and burnt the decoration articles he had kept for Ramnavami Shobha Yatra. “The police came an hour after the incident. By then, the violence had ended,” he said.
Sunil Peshne, another resident, said his car was burnt down during the violence by a 1,000-strong mob and that they vandalised about 25-30 vehicles in the area. His wife, Madhuri Peshne, said the doors and windows of their house were damaged in the stone pelting.
Read: Devendra Fadnavis Calls Nagpur Violence A “Conspiracy”, Gets Manipur Counter
‘Culprits Were Masked, Had Rods’
Another eyewitness, who lives in the Hansapuri area, recounted that the culprits were masked and came with sharp weapons and rods. “They started chaos in the area when they came, and vandalised shops and threw stones. They also torched vehicles,” she told news agency ANI.
Vansh Kawle, an eyewitness, too said the mobsters had their faces covered. They first damaged the CCTV cameras and tried to barge into houses, he said.
A local tea shop was also not spared. Its owner said the mob also broke into a clinic in front of his shop and damaged the furniture and medicines inside.
Pravin Datke, the BJP MLA from Nagpur Central, claimed that the mob violence was “pre-planned” and a majority of the culprits came from outside. Only Hindu houses and shops were targeted, he claimed, adding, “It is regrettable that yesterday, the police did not stand with the Hindu citizens.”
Read: 47 People Detained, 14 Cops Injured In Nagpur Violence: Minister
He said he kept calling police inspector Sanjay Singh for two hours, but his phone was switched off.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, has assured action against the culprits. Speaking in the assembly, he said it appeared to be a “premeditated conspiracy” and at least 33 police personnel were injured, including three deputy commissioners of police. An official was even attacked with an axe.
His deputy, Eknath Shinde has claimed that was conspiracy was to target a specific community.