Voilence at Chakan, Maharashtra, by Maratha on Monday, July 30, 2018 Express photo by Abhinav Saha
The offence registered in connection with the violence in Chakan during the agitation for Maratha reservation last week was transferred to the Local Crime Branch (LCB) of Pune Rural Police on Saturday. Police have arrested 27 people, most of them between the ages of 18 and 28 years, and detained three minors. Over 100 people who resorted to arson and vandalism in which 20 vehicles were gutted and 70 damaged have been identified.
“Our process of questioning the probable suspects will continue. The arrests are being made only after primary confirmation that the person was involved in a crime,” said Inspector Dayanand Gawade, who heads the LCB.
The one FIR registered in the case states that a gathering of four-five thousand people had turned violent. But police had clarified those a smaller number of people had resorted to violence. Police have also invoked sections of the Highways Act for blocking the highway traffic and NGT Act, Section 26, for burning tyres.