By PTI
Maharashtra witnessed 823 incidents of communal unrest so far since January this year including the violence in Nagpur, with demands for the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb and the spreading of distorted facts on social media fomenting fresh trouble, officials said.
Nandurbar, Pune (Rural), Ratnagiri, Sangli, Beed, and Satara districts witnessed communal unrest besides other regions over the right-wing organisations’ demand for the demolition of the tomb of the Mughal emperor, located in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, in recent days.
A total of 156 criminal cases were registered with various police stations in the state in January in connection with communal unrest, 99 in February, and 78 till mid-March, an official said on Monday, adding that 102 cases were listed as cognisable crimes due to religious reasons.
Maharashtra in 2024 witnessed 4,836 Hindu-Muslim related communal crimes of which 170 incidents were cognisable and 3,106 non-cognisable cases, an official told PTI. Among these cases, 371 incidents were related to religious insults.
Mobs went on a rampage in several areas of central Nagpur on March 17 following a protest held by Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad demanding the removal of Aurganzeb’s tomb, which they claimed is a symbol of “pain and slavery”.
Notably, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently told the state legislature that Vicky Kaushal-starrer film “Chhaava”, based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, reignited people’s emotions against Aurangzeb.
This story was originally published in hindustantimes.com. Read the full story here.
