Initial police findings indicate Amravati violence was not planned

The probe has also not found indications of planned violence in Amravati on Saturday, when around 6,000 persons from the BJP and Hindutva organisations took to the streets and two shops and four vehicles were gutted.

The police are, however, still looking for some of the accused, whose questioning will help bring more clarity on the cause of the violence.
According to the initial findings, there were small gatherings and protests by 23 organisations at 111 places across Maharashtra on Friday, and it was only at three places — Amravati, Malegaon and Nanded — that things took a violent turn before they were brought under control.

The police are looking for some accused in Malegaon and Nanded who “seemed insistent in going to areas with mixed communities” that could have led to trouble. “Once we arrest these people, we will get some more clarity if there was any deliberate plan to cause trouble or it was just a case of carrying out a protest,” a senior IPS officer of the state police said.

A senior official told The Indian Express, “Based on our findings so far, it was not a planned act. Had that been the case, some of those who were part of the mob would have been carrying bottles, chilli power or weapons, as has been the case in most planned acts of violence.” The official said that as per their information, there were protests at 111 places and it was only at these three places where an issue was reported.

“Our findings indicate that of the 8000-strong mob that gathered on Friday to protest the violence in Tripura, it was 80-100 persons who led to stone-pelting at one place,” the official said.

The official added that apart from the Tripura issue, the crowd was also protesting a book written by Wasim Rizvi, a former UP Shia Waqf Board member chairman, that uses ‘objectionable’ language against Islam.

On the role of Raza Academy, the official said that based on their probe of the 111 places where the protests were organized, only 45 were led by Raza Academy.

“We have found that a total of 23 organisations had given support to the protests including Jamiat-e-Islami Hind, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and Bhim Army among others. In fact, in Amravati, where the violence took place, they do not have a branch,” the official added.

Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil on Wednesday told the media that the protesters had not taken permission from the police to take to the street for protests.

When contacted, Saeed Noorie, founder of Raza Academy in Mumbai, said, “We had only given a call for voluntary protests in Mumbai which were peaceful. However, since people were hurt by what had happened in Tripura and Wasim Rizvi’s book, they took to the streets. If anyone has indulged in violence, action should be taken against them by the police. If it turns out that anyone from Raza Academy was involved in the violence, I will resign.”