The Maharashtra Police has reportedly arrested 17 people and registered FIRs against more than 500 individuals on charges of indulging in arson and damaging property during the clashes in Yavat village in Daund tehsil of Pune district over an alleged objectionable post.
The youth who uploaded the social media post has also been arrested and a separate case was registered against him, according to the police. Communal tension erupted in Yavat village in Daund tehsil of the city on Friday where several groups of persons vandalised and set ablaze properties over the objectionable content.
The incident comes just days after tensions erupted over the desecration of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the Neelkantheshwar temple in Yavat on July 26.
A huge mob took to the streets to vent their ire and set ablaze a motorcycle and damaged a bakery even as the police lobbed teargas shells to bring the situation under control.
Those involved in the incident targeted a motorcycle, two cars, one religious structure and a bakery, and indulged in arson. The police had to lob tear gas shells and lathi-charge to disperse the mob.
Superintendent of Police (Pune Rural) Sandeep Singh Gill said the preliminary probe has not indicated to any planned conspiracy in the incident. He, however, said that no conclusions can be drawn until the inquiry is over.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar visited the site and said the youth who allegedly uploaded the objectionable Whatsapp post hails from Nanded and is a daily wage labourer. He put out an objectionable post related to an incident that took place in Madhya Pradesh, which angered the locals and they resorted to vandalism, he said.
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