Ram Navami Violence: 3 minors among 21 held after clash in Mumbai suburb

THE MUMBAI police on Friday apprehended 21 people, including three minors, in connection with a communal incident that took place in Malad’s Malwani area in Mumbai’s northern suburbs on Thursday night during a religious procession. In other incidents of communal violence, the police said six other FIRs have been registered across the state over the last three days. One person from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, previously Aurangabad, lost his life after the police resorted to lathicharge and lobbed tear gas to restore law and order.

Six persons were injured in Ohar village in Sambhaji Nagar on Friday morning after a clash between two groups. “The groups pelted stones at each other. We have registered an FIR for rioting and unlawful assembly. We have detained some of the rioters. The situation is under control,” Inspector Amol Devkar of Harsul police station said.

The Aurangabad police have formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the incidents.

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According to the Mumbai police, in Malwani, a fight broke out after some people at a mosque asked a procession passing by to stop playing music, which later escalated with slippers and water bottles being thrown by both sides before the police brought the situation under control. There was massive police bandobast in the area on Friday as well.

“A total of 21 people have been nabbed, which includes three minors. We are going through footage of CCTV and drone cameras to identify other miscreants,” DCP (Zone XI) Ajay Kumar Bansal said.

According to the police, trouble started around 7.20 pm on Thursday when a Ram Navami procession of around 6,000 people was passing outside the Jama Masjid in Malwani.