Police use tear gas, lathis as Kolhapur stir turns violent; 20 held, mobile internet cut

KOLHAPUR: Twenty people were detained and mobile internet services here were suspended for 31 hours — from 5pm on Wednesday till midnight on Thursday — after a bandh call by Bajrang Dal over a status eulogising Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan, posted on some social media accounts, turned violent earlier in the day at Shivaji Chowk.
Police resorted to heavy lathicharge and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse protesters, who had gathered in large numbers at Shivaji Chowk despite prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144. District and city members of right-wing outfits participated in the protest.
The police action caused a stampede-like situation for a brief period. Two protesters were injured and 50 vehicles and some shops were damaged during the violence, said police. Normalcy returned late in the afternoon and evening with regular traffic on roads.
The violence comes a day after stone-pelting near Sangamner, in Ahmednagar district. Two people were injured and five vehicles damaged in Tuesday’s violence.
CM Eknath Shinde said, “Those who broke the law will not be shielded.”
Special IGP (Kolhapur zone) Sunil Phulari said, “The situation in Kolhapur is under control.”
On Tuesday, there was some unrest following a stone-pelting incident over social media posts. “Later, we called people from two communities. They had some misunderstanding, which we tried to clear and convince them not to observe a bandh. They agreed hen but the bandh supporters eventually showed up at Shivaji Chowk,” Kolhapur collector Rahul Rekhawar said.
Kolhapur DSP Mahendra Pandit said, “Protesters were insisting they be allowed to take out a morcha. We asked them not to move away from protest site. At this time another group of protesters started pelting stones.”
The ensuing melee, apart from injuring people, left a trail of 50-odd damaged two-wheelers and autorickshaws, besides some damaged shops, because of stone-pelting. Many protesters threw stones at vehicles, a place of worship, the meat market and establishments belonging to one community before an additional police force moved in to take control of the situation. Sporadic instances of stone-pelting continued till 3pm.
Almost 90% of shops, trade and business establishments remained shut for most of the day.