Kolhapur violence: 36 arrested for stone-pelting, vandalism, rioting

The situation in Kolhapur city and district is peaceful, Kolhapur District Superintendent of Police Mahendra Pandit said. Internet services are expected to be restored on Thursday evening.

On the number of people injured in the stone pelting and lathi charge, the Kolhapur police maintained that they were yet to get the information. (PTI)

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The police in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district have arrested 36 people for stone pelting, vandalism and rioting reported on Wednesday during a bandh called by pro-Hindutva outfits seeking action against certain objectionable social media posts. Six others were arrested in connection with an earlier incident of stone pelting and rioting in Kolhapur city on Tuesday over the same reason, the police added.

The Kolhapur district police have registered four separate first information reports (FIRs) – three on the violence on Wednesday and one on the incident on Tuesday – officials told The Indian Express.

Five more FIRs were registered in police stations across Kolhapur district in connection to the social media posts showing images of 18th-century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan accompanied by an objectionable slogan in the form of an audio.

Internet services that were suspended in Kolhapur city on Wednesday evening for 24 hours are expected to be restored on Thursday evening.

“The situation in Kolhapur city and district remains peaceful. Considerable police force remains deployed across our jurisdiction,” Kolhapur District Superintendent of Police Mahendra Pandit said.

Also read | Riot-like situation in Maharashtra due to Aurangzeb’s ‘auladein’, says Fadnavis

On the number of people injured in the stone pelting and lathi charge, the Kolhapur police maintained that they were yet to get the information. A senior police officer said, “Some people are feared injured…We do not know the exact number yet because some of them went to private hospitals, some to state-run hospitals and some may have not gone to hospitals at all.”

Kolhapur district police officials had said that a large number of people, mainly youth belonging to various pro-Hindutva organisations, had gathered at Chhatrapati Shivaji Chowk in Kolhapur on Wednesday morning. While the outfits had called for a bandh in Kolhapur city, and many businesses remained shut, a protest was also held. Officials had said that as people were returning after the protest, some miscreants resorted to stone pelting on some houses in a residential area. Police officials said they had to resort to a lathi charge and lob tear gas canisters to control the unruly mob that was indulging in stone pelting, vandalism and rioting.