Days after violence broke out in Maharashtra’s Nagpur following a call by right-wing outfits to remove Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday that the cost of damages caused during the arson and vandalism would be “recovered from the rioters themselves”. “The cost of total damages caused during the riots will be calculated and will be recovered from the rioters themselves. If they fail to pay for the damages, their property will be sold,” Fadnavis said, addressing the media in Nagpur. Asked if he would take ‘bulldozer action’ like in Uttar Pradesh, Fadnavis said, “Action in Maharashtra would be taken in our way, wherever bulldozer action is needed we will definitely do that. No one will be spared.” Fadnavis reiterated the government’s firm stance against violence and informed that the authorities have so far identified 104 accused and arrested 92, including 12 juveniles who have been apprehended. “Over 68 inflammatory social media posts linked to the riots have been flagged and deleted,” Fadnavis said, warning that people who incited violence through social media would also be treated as co-accused in the case. Dismissing concerns about intelligence failure, Fadnavis admitted that while intelligence gathering could have been better, it was not a complete lapse. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Nagpur will proceed as planned, Fadnavis said, with no changes to the schedule. PM Modi is expected to visit the RSS headquarters at Nagpur on March 30. Fadnavis clarified that a Bangladeshi angle to the violence cannot be confirmed right now, adding that some social media profiles were found to be sharing content from Bangladesh. The chief minister also said that certain parties from Malegaon were found to be supporting the accused rioters. Dismissing a political angle behind the violence, Fadnavis stressed that harsh action would be taken against those involved. He acknowledged that there were indications of a pre-planned attack, but an official confirmation will be made only after the investigation is complete. Fadnavis also clarified that reports of a woman constable being sexually molested during the riots were false. “The woman was blocked by multiple rioters and attacked with stones,” the chief minister said. Reassuring citizens that 80 per cent of Nagpur is peaceful, Fadnavis assured that the curfew imposed in the affected areas would be gradually relaxed. “To strengthen security and surveillance, efforts are underway to install new CCTV cameras alongside the existing ones,” he added. Defending the police, Fadnavis, who handles the home portfolio, stated that targeting law enforcement was unfair as they were doing their best to control the situation. He also revealed that a member of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress fact-finding committee has been named as an accused in the Akola riots case. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Lohit Matani told The Indian Express that Hamid Engineer, the working president of Minorities Democratic Party, was arrested late on Friday night. Engineer had been called in for questioning as an accused in one of the FIRs filed by the cyber cell of Nagpur police. He was arrested on charges of instigating violence, DCP Matani added. Mohammad Shahzad, who runs the NNTV channel on Instagram and YouTube, was also taken into custody for promoting violence with subversive activities, DCP Matani said.
