The police registered FIRs and arrested 23 people for rioting and assaulting on duty personnel. Abhay Matne, Achalpur city president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who was arrested late on Tuesday night was produced before a magistrate court on Wednesday and remanded to police custody till April 22. Meanwhile, the police have extended the curfew for a third day as a preventive measure but said the situation has been peaceful since Sunday’s clashes.
Matne, a resident of Achalpur, along with a few BJP workers were accused of hoisting a saffron flag at Dulha Gate which led to communal clash on Sunday evening, leading to a curfew being imposed in Achalpur and its twin city Paratwada.
Matne was traced to Pune on Tuesday following which a special police team was sent there and he was nabbed.
The curfew in Achalpur and Paratwada in Amravati rural was lifted for a few hours – between 6 am and 9.30 am and from 6 pm to 8.30 pm – on Wednesday. Police said the curfew was being continued as they sensed there could be more clashes.
Madhavrao Garud, senior police inspector of Achalpur police station, said, “Matne and 27 others arrested so far are in police custody. Their custody will end on April 21-22. The decision of lifting curfew or continuing with it will be taken on Thursday morning.”
Two policemen were injured in Sunday’s communal clashes, which saw members of two communities pelting each other with stones.
“There were around 70 to 80 people from each of the communities. We rushed to the spot and dispersed the crowd. We have registered three FIRs. One against the group of men who hoisted the flag and other two against the two communities,” said Garud. The police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd.
“Three companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), 100 police personnel from nearby Akola district, and another 300 police personnel from Amravati police are on the streets to ensure no untoward incident takes place,” said an official.
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