NASHIK, 31 OCT: Tension gripped Manmad town, about 100 km from Nashik city, today after an idol of Mahatma Phule was found garlanded with chapppals. The bust of Phule along the Datta Mandir road was found garlanded with footwear this morning by local residents.AS the news spread in the town, shopkeepers downed their shutters anticipating unrest. A crowd collected at the site as tension mounted. Some local residents later removed the garland and washed the idol. However, uneasy calm prevailed through the day.The police have registered an offence under section 295 of the Indian Penal Code against unknown person(s). Incidentally, Manmad also saw a riot in the same locality between two groups following an altercation over kite-flying.The police had registered complaints from both groups and arrested six persons. One group was led by one Prashant Sable and the other by Izaz Sheikh Gaffar Sheikh.Today's idol desecration comes close on the heels of the defiling of a Shivaji idol in Sinnar town on October 16. The incident in Sinnar had led to stone pelting and arson and the blockade of the Nashik-Pune road and the Sinnar-Shirdi road for over four hours. The police had later arrested a Shiv Sainik, Bharat Kashinath Golesar, for desecrating the idol.
