On May 14, 2023, in Akola, on May 14, 2023, in the Old City police station area, on May 13, after a violent clash between two groups over a minor dispute, Section 144 was implemented. Photo Credit: ANI
Asserting that the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will not allow anyone to riot in Maharashtra, state Home Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday spoke in the wake of the incident Clashes in Akola and Ahmednagar districtsclaimed that some people were deliberately provoking such conflicts to “destabilize” the state.
Speaking in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Mr Fadnavis further informed that the clashes between two communities in Akola town late on Saturday were completely under control, as was the situation in Ahmednagar.
Read also: Riot in Akola was probably pre-planned: Maharashtra minister
“Someone is deliberately trying to instigate clashes and destroy law and order in the state, but the police were fully alert. There are some organizations and people who are trying to destabilize the state, but the government will teach them a lesson. To some extent, these riots are politically motivated. The situation in Akola is peaceful as of now and is completely under control.
Shri Fadnavis warned that the instigators of the riots would be exposed and the government would not allow them to succeed in their nefarious designs.
One person was killed in the Akola violence and ten others, including two policemen, were injured in the scuffle that broke out on Saturday night. A fight broke out between two groups of different communities over a religious social media post on Instagram which hurt the sentiments of one community.
Members of two groups indulged in stone-pelting and vandalism, with rioters setting some two-wheelers and four-wheelers on fire during the violence that broke out in the communally sensitive Old City area of Akola.
Minister and BJP leader Girish Mahajan, who visited the riot-hit part of the city, alleged that the clashes were “pre-planned”.
Meanwhile, in Ahmednagar, at least five people were injured in a communal clash at Shevgaon village on Sunday during a procession taken out to mark the birth anniversary of 17th century Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Sambhaji, son of Shivaji.
Officials said several shops and vehicles were damaged in the stone-pelting.
Police have so far detained over 80 people in the Akola incident and 32 people in the Ahmednagar clash. Authorities have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against over 300 people in the Akola violence and over 150 in the Ahmednagar incident.
Internet services have been suspended in both Akola and Shevgaon, with district authorities invoking Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which prohibits unlawful assembly of people, to maintain law and order.
Police deployment has increased significantly in riot-affected areas, with the presence of the State Reserve Police Force and Riot Control Squad.
The incidents in Akola and Shevgaon were a repeat of similar clashes that rocked Aurangabad city (now renamed Sambhajinagar) during Ram Navami in March this year.
At that time, one person was killed and several police officers were injured while several private vehicles were torched. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) blamed the ruling BJP for instigating the communal riots in the state.
Meanwhile, lambasting Mr Fadnavis over the Akola and Ahmednagar incidents, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut alleged that the state home minister was not concerned about the law and order situation and was “only involved in politics”. has an interest in”.