A day after Islamists disrupted Arati at the Hanuman Mandir in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. As per a report by Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar City News, on 12 March, the regular Tuesday evening Arati was going on in the Hanuman Mandir at Chikalthana’s Kamgar Colony. Islamists barged in and warned Hindus not to conduct prayers for a month.
Besides causing disruptions, they shoved women devotees and thrashed two Hindu youths. This led to tensions in the area, which were quelled by the timely intervention of the police. The police had to resort to a mild lathicharge to disperse the crowd. “We have stationed RCF and CRPF forces to ensure peace in the area. Three persons are injured, but they have sustained injuries as they slipped from the vehicle,” police authorities said in their media statement. The police reportedly asked Hindus to conduct Arati from 8 to 8.30 PM and the Muslims to undertake their prayers after that.
Hindu Samaj conducted a Maha Arati on 13 March to register their opposition to the deliberate disruption caused by Islamists. People gathered in thousands for the event. According to local news reports, stones were pelted at youths heading to Kamgar Colony for the Arati by anti-social elements, injuring three of them. Youths present at the temple were angered when they learnt of the stone pelting incident. They gathered on Jalna Road, blocked traffic, and raised slogans.
The injured were identified as Avinash Bondre, Sagar Banjare, and Shubham Rathod. They were admitted to the Zilla Hospital for treatment. Shubham informed the police that they were headed towards Hanuman Mandir for Arati when stones were pelted at them. This caused panic, and the youths headed to Jalna Road in fear, leaving their bikes behind.
Based on Krishna Nage’s complaint, two cases have been registered in the matter. Nage’s complaint says that Rajni Gupta, Harilal Gupta, Krishna Nage, Raju Rothe, Ramsanai Gupta, and others were beaten up by the miscreants. Based on this complaint, CIDCO MIDC police registered a case against Kamgar Colony residents Laila, Shakeel Jainuddin Shaikh, Akeel Jainuddin Shaikh, Anees Jainuddin, Rafiq Jainuddin Shaikh, Shoaib Salim Qureshi, and 12 others. Additionally, a case has been registered against Deepak Rajendra Chavan, Ajay Gaikwad, and 30 to 40 others for rioting based on Assistant police officer (Faujdar) Vishnu Munde’s complaint.
The situation was initially controlled on Tuesday night with the intervention of Assistant Police Inspector Ashok Thorat and Police Inspector Gautam Pathare. However, when Krishna and other injured persons had gone to the police station to complain, Islamists gathered a vast mob. Reportedly, WhatsApp messages were sent asking Islamists to collect, and the mob reached Jalna Road at around 9 PM, where they raised slogans. They also stopped the traffic and pelted stones at an ST bus, breaking its windows. The police subsequently managed to disperse the crowd.
On Wednesday (13 March), markets opened five hours late. On Wednesday morning, a meeting was called to discuss the previous night’s incident and arrive at a solution to end the dispute. Former Nagarsevaks Sanjay Chaudhary and Sohail Shaikh attended the meeting and called for peace. They blamed ‘outsiders’ for creating tensions.
On Wednesday night, Hindu Samaj organized a Maha Arati in response to the Islamist call not to perform it. Thousands of youth, led by Shiv Sena (Shinde Faction) Zilla President Rajendra Janjal, conducted the Maha Arati. Slogans were allegedly raised after the Maha Arati. However, a vast police force at the site ensured peace was maintained. They also pacified the people and, later, dispersed the gathering.
Deputy Commissioner Navnit Kavant, Prashant Swami, Assistant Police Commissioner Ashok Thorat, Police Inspector Gautam Pathare, Sandeep Gurme, Venkatesh Kendre, Sambhaji Pawar, and Shivajirao Tavre were present at the site till late at night along with a massive police force and riot control force.
(Featured Image Source: Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar City News)
