The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde appealed to people to cooperate in restoring peace and normalcy in the riot-hit town of Kolhapur. The city is witnessing a law and order situation following the circulation of controversial WhatsApp messages about Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan.
The clashes erupted on June 7 after Hindu organisations called for a peaceful protest march following posts on social media praising tyrant Tipu Sultana and Aurangzeb. Amid the 350th coronation ceremony of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, infringe elements posted updates praising the invaders who plundered Bharat.
As soon as the peaceful march concluded some miscreants started pelting stones at Hindus. Speaking with the media about the clashes the Superintendent of Police Mahendra Pandit said, “Some organisations had called for a Kolhapur bandh and the members of these organisations gathered at Shivaji Chowk today. After their demonstration ended, the crowd began to disperse but some miscreants started pelting stones, forcing police to use force against these people to disperse them,”
Collector of Kolhapur, Rahul Rekhawar said the restoration works are in full swing and soon things will return back to normal. News Agency PTI reported, The situation in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur is gradually returning to normal, a day after violence during a demonstration against the alleged use of Tipu Sultan’s image along with an objectionable audio message as social media “status” by a few locals, a senior police official said on June 8.
A local Hindu activist said, “After the chaos, the police then resorted to lathi charge to disperse the crowd. It is being said that the two persons who posted the objectionable stories have been detained, but it’s unconfirmed,”
At least 36 people have so far been arrested and cases registered in connection with the violence said the police. Additionally, five cases have been registered by police in the district pertaining to objectionable posts. Five persons, including juveniles, have been detained in two of these cases, the police said.
Following the protests several shops were vandalized in the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation, Ganji Galli, Mahadwar Road, Akbar Mohalla, and Shivaji Road adjacent to Shivaji Chowk area in the city of Kolhapur.
It is pertinent to mention that, as many as seven people had posted the objectionable WhatsApp status on the occasion of the 350th coronation day of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. As per the reports, two of them are native to Kolhapur while the others were from the nearby small towns. The police have booked a case against the person who first uploaded the status.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “This Maharashtra belongs to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and people who show disrespect to him will not be spared. This is intolerable. The situation in Kolhapur is being monitored and it is under control now. The state appeals to people to maintain peace,” he said
Further, cabinet ministers Deepak Kesarkar and Shambhuraje Desai said that some of the political elements were making deliberate attempts to disturb the communal harmony in the state. The duo also warned that the miscreants would be dealt with a heavy hand.
Earlier this week the Ahmednagar police arrested two and filed an FIR against four in relation to carrying posters praising Aurangzeb during a procession. “Amid music and dance in the procession, four youths carried posters of Aurangzeb. An offence was registered against these four under Indian Penal Code for intention to incite a community to commit an offence against another community, hurting religious sentiments, as well as other offences,” a police official told news agency PTI
Notably, on May 17, Maharashtra Police filed an FIR against one person identified as Sheikh Aftaab Shiekh Mannan for uploading an Islamist propaganda social media story on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The accused person had posted a video in which Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was seen bowing down before Aurangzeb. “Aurangzeb Hindustan ka Baap,” the video captioned.
