Clashes erupted in Parbhani district for the second consecutive day after a person vandalised a replica of the Constitution near the statue of BR Ambedkar outside the railway station on Tuesday.
A crowd of around 200 people gathered near the statue after word spread about the incident and raised slogans. As police arrived to disperse the crowd, stones were hurled as chaos ensued. It soon triggered violence and incidents of arson were also reported in the area.
On Wednesday, a ‘bandh’ was called by the locals in the Vasmat area of the district, during which the violence again erupted. A mob of unidentified people threw stones and damaged vehicles.
The protesters also rushed towards the Parbhani railway station and tried to stop the trains. They blocked the railway tracks for over 30 minutes before being evicted by Government Railway Police (GRP) and local police personnel.
Speaking about the law and order in Parbhani, a senior official of Parbhani Police said that the situation was brought under control with the deployment of additional forces after two and a half hours. One person was detained by the police after the violence.
Meanwhile, Parbhani’s District Magistrate (DM) Raghunath Gawade, said one of the accused has been detained and Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been imposed to restrict mass gatherings.
“Section 163 of BNS has been imposed in Parbhani, prohibiting mass gatherings. The tensions erupted due to an incident involving damage to the replica of the Constitution. One accused has been detained. We appeal to all citizens to maintain peace in the city. Do not trust or spread any rumours. We are in constant touch with senior police officials,” Gawade said.