A minor altercation between children playing inside a residential society in Pune’s Kondhwa area escalated within hours into a communally charged confrontation involving large crowds outside the Kondhwa Police Station, with police FIRs detailing religious sloganeering, unlawful assembly, police action, and allegations of stone pelting.
Three FIRs registered at Kondhwa Police Station now provide the most detailed official account of how the violence unfolded between the night of May 18 and the early hours of May 19. The complaints were filed separately by a resident and two police personnel and repeatedly mention crowds raising slogans of “Nara-e-Takbir, Allahu Akbar” after four youths were detained by police.
The FIRs identify four accused as Abdul Rehman Abulias Sheikh, Arafat Khalil Sheikh, Umar Arif Memon, and Arfan Ahmed Sheikh. Several unidentified persons are also being investigated through CCTV footage and videos circulating on social media.
How the incident began inside Isha Bella vista society?
According to FIR (No. 382/2026) filed by Dhirendra Vitthal Maral, a resident of Isha Bella Vista Society, the incident began around 9:30 pm on May 18 while children inside the society were playing with toys.
Maral stated that he and another resident, Rakesh Kamthe, were speaking in the society parking area when they noticed an argument among children. Initially, they ignored it, assuming it was a routine quarrel among minors.
However, the situation allegedly escalated when some older boys from outside the society entered the premises and began abusing and assaulting children living inside the society.
In his complaint, Maral stated: “Young children often fight while playing, so we ignored it and were discussing our work, when some unknown older children from outside, who had come to the society for some work, started abusing my son and one of his friends who was playing with him, and started hitting him with their hands.”
Maral further stated that when he and Rakesh Kamthe intervened and questioned the youths, they identified themselves as Abdul Rehman Abulias Sheikh, Arafat Khalil Sheikh, Umar Arif Memon, and Arfan Ahmed Sheikh.
The complaint alleges that after the argument appeared to settle, another group entered the society premises.
The FIR states, “Suddenly an illegal crowd of 10 to 15 people came from outside our society and started shouting loudly and threatening to come and see us.”
Following this, society residents contacted the police. Officers arrived at the scene, detained the four identified youths, and transported them to Kondhwa Police Station.
The FIR was registered under Sections 189(2), 351(2), and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Massive crowd gathering outside police station
The situation intensified when the detained youths were being brought to the police station.
In FIR (No. 384/2026), Police Constable Subhash Mahadev Jarande stated that police personnel had received information that children from outside the society had entered Isha Bella Vista Society and assaulted minors living there.
Jarande stated that officers reached the society, located the accused youths on the fourth floor of F Wing, detained them, and brought them toward Kondhwa Police Station.
According to his complaint, a large gathering had already formed near the police station arch by the time the police vehicle arrived.
The FIR states, “When our police car reached the arch on the main road of Thane, approximately 120 to 150 people from the Muslim community had stopped there.”
Jarande further alleged, “As soon as our car entered the main arch, the Muslim people who had gathered, seeing the complainant from Isha Bella Vista Society and the other people who had come with him, started shouting slogans, abusing him and throwing stones.”
The officer stated that police used “mild force” to disperse the gathering toward the Ashoka Mews Society area.
The FIR also mentions that another gathering of around 90 to 100 Hindus later assembled outside the police station demanding action against the accused involved in the society incident.
Jarande stated, “A crowd of about 90 to 100 Hindu people had gathered near the arch on the main road in front of the Kondhwa Police Pune City Station and stood on the main road… shouting slogans to take our complaint.”
This FIR was registered under Section 189(2) of the BNS.
Saif Pathan FIR lodges another FIR
Another FIR (No. 383/2026) filed by Police Officer Saif Alim Pathan, who stated that he had been on duty at Kondhwa Police Station from 9 pm on May 18 till 9 am on May 19.
Pathan stated that police responded after receiving information that outsiders had entered the society and assaulted children residing there. After detaining the accused youths and transporting them toward the police station, officers allegedly encountered a large crowd waiting outside.
The FIR states, “Approximately 120 to 150 people from the Muslim community were waiting near the arch on the main road of the police station.”
The complaint further alleges, “As soon as the police vehicle entered through the main arch, the gathered Muslims, seeing the complainant from the society and the other people who came with them, started shouting slogans, abusing them and throwing stones.”
According to Pathan, police initially dispersed the crowd using force and pushed the gathering toward Ashoka Mews Society. However, the officer alleged that the crowd regrouped again in larger numbers and began moving back toward the police station.
The FIR states, “When it was noticed that the illegal crowd was again coming towards the police station in larger numbers than before, the police tried to stop the said crowd at the dumping yard.”
Pathan further alleged that members of the crowd again started throwing stones at police personnel, forcing officers to use force once more to disperse the gathering toward Arshivad Chowk.
The complaint then describes the situation escalating further around 11:15 pm.
The FIR states, “Approximately 150 to 200 illegal groups of the Muslim community took law and order into their hands and with the intention of creating panic and creating riots, they threw stones at the police and common citizens.”
The complaint alleges that unrest spread near Kondhwa Police Station, Ashoka Mews Society, and Arshivad Chowk, with both police personnel and civilians reportedly sustaining injuries. Earlier reports had also claimed that three police personnel were injured during the violence.
This FIR was registered under Sections 118(1), 189(2), 189(3), 190, 191(1), and 191(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 37(1)(c) and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act, and Section 7 of the Faujdari Kayeda Adhiniyam.
CCTV footage and viral videos being examined
Police are now reportedly examining CCTV footage, mobile recordings, and viral social media videos to identify additional accused involved in the unlawful assembly and violence. Several suspects have already been detained while police teams continue conducting raids to locate absconding accused persons.
Allahu Akbar in Pune now:
Why?
A minor altercation between two teenagers coming from Hindu and Muslim community turned into a spat. They abused each other, but in no time, an Islamist mob reached the spot and started raising Allahu Akbar slogans.
Two days back, a couple was… pic.twitter.com/QZdX7MKs27
— Subhi Vishwakarma (@subhi_karma) May 20, 2026
The Kondhwa area remained tense after the incident, with additional police deployment made in surrounding areas to prevent further escalation.
Larger questions over crowd mobilisation
The FIRs have reignited debate over how rapidly local disputes in communally sensitive urban pockets can escalate into larger confrontations involving religious slogans and crowd mobilisation.
According to local accounts, one of the minors involved in the original altercation was reportedly linked to the family of local NCP functionary Rakesh Kamthe, while the other side involved Muslim youths from outside the society premises.
Residents claim that within a short period after police detained the accused youths, crowds began gathering near the police station and slogans of “Nara-e-Takbir, Allahu Akbar” started echoing in the area.
Kondhwa has frequently been described locally as a communally sensitive area with a significant Muslim population. The incident has once again sparked discussion over policing challenges, rapid mobilisation during communal tensions, and the vulnerability of dense urban localities to escalation following even minor disputes.
The developments have also drawn comparisons online with recent incidents in Mira Road and other parts of Maharashtra where communal tensions and allegations of intimidation triggered wider political and public reactions.
While the investigation remains ongoing, the three FIRs together establish one clear sequence. What began as a dispute between children inside a residential society escalated within hours into a major midnight law and order situation involving crowds, religious sloganeering, police deployment, road blockades, and multiple criminal complaints in one of Pune’s most sensitive localities.
