Ka Nagpur (Maharashtra), March 18 : Nagpur Police have arrested more than 50 individuals in connection with the violence that broke out on the night of March 17. Authorities are working to identify other individuals involved by analyzing CCTV footage and social media posts. Nagpur’s Commissioner of Police, Ravinder Kumar Singal, confirmed on Tuesday that the situation in the city has returned to normal, with peace prevailing in the affected areas.
Singal stated, “The situation is peaceful now, and we have imposed a curfew across an area covering 11 police stations. Everything is under control.” He also mentioned that over 50 people had been taken into custody and that further identification of suspects through visual evidence was underway.
Addressing allegations regarding the police’s response to the unrest, Singal clarified that law enforcement was present from the onset of the incident, resulting in 33 officers being injured during the operation. He dismissed claims that the police had not adequately supported the citizens, asserting that no civilians were physically harmed in the incident.
Earlier, BJP MLA Pravin Datke visited Hansapuri, the area where the violence occurred. He accused the police of not supporting Hindu citizens during the unrest, suggesting that much of the mob had come from outside the locality. Datke warned that if the police failed to act, the Hindu community might take matters into their own hands.
Following the violence, authorities imposed a curfew in several parts of Nagpur under Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The curfew includes areas under the jurisdiction of Kotwali, Ganeshpeth, Tehsil, Lakadganj, Pachpaoli, Shantinagar, Sakkardara, Nandanvan, Imamwada, Yashodharanagar, and Kapilnagar police stations. The restrictions are to remain in effect until further notice.
On March 17, around 200 to 250 members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal gathered near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Mahal to protest the presence of Aurangzeb’s grave. The demonstrators raised slogans demanding the grave’s removal, displaying a symbolic green cloth filled with cow dung cakes.