By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Mumbai: On 31st May someone posted on social-networking website, Facebook derogatory images of Chhatrapati Shivaji and late Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thakerey, which purportedly irked the shiv sainiks across Maharashtra and gave them an opportunity which they were perhaps seeking since couple of months to run vandalism across the state. There are confirmed reports of vandalism by furious Shiv Sainiks in the cities of Pune, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Parbhani and Kolhapur in protest of the derogatory references posted on Facebook.
It was only a week before that the Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan was informed by the IB that there were strong chances of eruption of riots in certain cities of Maharashtra owing to the upcoming assembly elections in the state due to which the state government had issued strict orders to the police department to keep vigilance on anti social activities in the state.
Several buses and private vehicles were pelted with stones in areas like Chinchwad, Katraj, Hadapsar, Bhosari and Faraskhana [Courtesy: DNA]
But despite such inputs and preparation of police, Shiv Sainiks managed to run a free hand vandalizing number of public and private vehicles and created chaos in the state. They even tried to communalize the violence by attacking houses of Muslims and Mosques in Pune and its nearby areas. The police in some cities managed to protect Muslim houses and mosques from angry Shiv Sainiks but could not control them in Pune where they came on to the street and forcefully close down the markets and started to loot Muslim shops, pelted stones and burned the parked vehicles.
The Shiv Sainiks were told that it was a Muslim youth who had posted the malicious images on Facebook and this became reason that they got angry and resolved for the violent activity although the state police had right away declared that there was no Muslim behind posting of those images.
According to BBC Hindi, at least 193 Buses in Pune City and around 200 Buses in Kolhapur have been damaged by the angry Shiv Sainiks while protesting against Photo shopped photos of Shivaji uploaded on Facebook.
There are reports that Shiv Sainiks threw petrol bombs along with stones in nearly 11 mosques situated in Pune and nearby areas due to which people in the Mosque were injured. One imam of the mosque was manhandled brutally due to which he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital where as many students of one of the Madarsa were injured due to throwing of petrol bomb on the Madarsa by Shiv Sainiks. These students have also been admitted to city hospital. Another imam of Mosque in Kandari was beaten up badly by Shiv Sainiks, who is also undergoing treatment in the city hospital.
Bus set on fire, Saturday night, near Bhonsari area [Courtesy: DNA]
The areas of Pune which came under the protest of Shiv Sainiks are Landewadi, Bhosari, Nool Mohalla, Panjarpur, Fatema Nagar, Kalewadi, Dande Chauk,Pimpri Gaon, Chinchwad Gaon, Ranjewadi, Kondwa and Vagoli. Police have registered 40 cases against Shiv Sainiks and have arrested 150 of them so far.
There are reports that Police tried their level best to contend Shiv Sainiks but as the protest and vandalism appeared preplanned, the police had to face many problems in maintaining law and order situation.
Protesters in Aurangabad city gathered together on the morning of 1st June and tried to execute their preplanned activity of vandalizing certain mosques in the city but due to preparedness of police could not execute it. Shiv Sainik tried to hoist saffron flag on the minaret of the mosque situated in Kranti chauk but police dispersed them by lathi charge and failed their plans of executing communal violence in Aurangabad.
Vandalism in Aurangabad
The Muslim majority areas of Mumbai such as Govandi, Bhiwandi and Mumbra were also tense for two days due to the pronouncement of ‘Bandh’ by Shiv Sainiks in Mumbai.
It is pertinent to mention that soon after the posting of derogatory references on Facebook, Mumbai cyber cell police immediately blocked the contents on internet on 31st May itself and had registered FIRs and hence there was no need for the Shiv Sainiks to create chaos in the state who protested violently on 1st and 2nd June. The state police is viewing the incidences as pre-planned due to the earlier inputs provided to them by the intelligence bureau.
Currently there is INC-NCP combined government in Maharashtra since a decade and Shiv Sena, which has an alliance with the BJP, is viewing it as a great chance to overrule INC-NCP government in the upcoming assembly elections due to the proved incumbency of INC at the centre and to make full use of Modi wave in Maharashtra. This is the reason that Shiv Sena is on seeking every possible opportunity to polarize votes in their favor just before the state elections due in November
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