Social media post sparks communal tension in Pune’s Yavat, police fire tear gas

Sandeep Singh Gill, Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural, told media persons that they got information around 12.30 pm about an objectionable social media status put up by a youngster.

The police detained the youngster, following which some villagers also gathered at the Yavat police station.

The youngster, whose social media post sparked tension on Friday, is not a resident of Yavat. The police said they were investigating whether he was associated with any group.

While the police were having a meeting with the villagers, the social media post went viral and sparked communal tensions in the area.

Gill, who was handling the situation on the ground, said nobody was injured in the violence. He appealed to the citizens to maintain peace and inform the police about any objectionable information on social media.

Local MLA Rahul Kul of BJP and MP Supriya Sule of NCP (SP) have appealed for peace.

There has been unrest in the region ever since a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was allegedly desecrated in Yavat on July 26. Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, right-wing groups, and local villagers had taken out a rally to condemn the incident. The police held meetings with villagers, activists, and political leaders to pacify the situation and arrested the accused.

As the situation turned tense in Yavat, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said no one should take the law in their own hands and peace should be maintained among communities. “I just received information about the Yavat case. Tension arose at the location because an outsider posted a wrong status. The status implied that a priest had committed rape or something of that sort, which caused tension and people came onto the streets. Subsequently, a lathicharge had to be used to disperse the crowd. However, the situation is now under control,” said Fadnavis.

“Some persons keep such objectionable posts just to create tension. Strict action will be taken against them,” Fadnavis said.

“Now, there is peace in Yavat. Also, it needs to be verified whether the viral videos of tense situations are from the same place or not. I appeal to the public that citizens should maintain peace and not take law in their hands. No one has the right to take law into their hands,” he said.