Police personnel near charred remains of a vehicle, a day after violence broke out following an agitation by a right-wing group demanding removal of Aurangzeb's tomb, in Nagpur.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: In a major development, the Nagpur police arrested Fahim Khan, a local politician and activist, who is believed to be the mastermind of the Nagpur communal clashes while the FIR narrates how the rioters misbehaved and made obscene gestures towards women police personnel.
Khan is the Nagpur district President of Minorities Democratic Party.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Khan had unsuccessfully contested the Nagpur seat against BJP’s Nitin Gadkari, who is now the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister.
The Nagpur police have registered five FIRs into the incident and have arrested more than 50 persons so far.
Khan’s arrest came just hours after his name was officially included in an FIR registered at Ganeshpeth police station.
The mob hurled petrol bombs, threw boulders and stones at the police during the violence and also attacked people with weapons.
Violence erupted in central Nagpur's Chitnis Park in Mahal area on Monday around 7.30 pm amid rumours that the holy Quran was burnt during an agitation by right-wing bodies and political parties for the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb from Khuldabad in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.
According to the FIR, the rioters also made obscene gestures and misbehaved with some other women, including police personnel.
Nagpur City Police Commissioner Dr Ravinder Singhal said, “Interrogations and investigations are in progress.”
On the gestures made against women, he said: “CCTV footage is being examined.”