NAGPUR, JUNE 27: Shivsainiks and the police fought a pitched battle here Monday noon when a morcha taken out by Shiv Sena to draw the government's attention towards problems faced by common people, turned violent over the issue of halting point, at the Akashvani Bhavan near District Collectorate.Several Sena men and women were injured when the police resorted to lathicharge to disperse them after they surged ahead by breaking the barricades, put up at the halting point, and pelted stones at the police.Some police officers, including seniors, were roughed up in the process, prompting DCP (II) R N Dahate, who was in-charge of the situation, to order lathicharge.At least eight Sena supporters were arrested later, among other things, for unlawful assembly, rioting, assault, obstructing public servants from carrying out their duty and damage to public property.Police said, nearly 76 Sena supporters were injured in the lathicharge and 27 policemen, including ACP (Sadar) Sunil Phulari and PIs Vinod Phatak and D R Moon, were wounded in the stone-pelting by the morchaites. All the injured were treated at the Mayo and the Government Medical College Hospitals.Later, addressing a press conference, Sena MP and Nagpur district unit chief Subodh Mohite criticised the Democratic Front Government for, what he termed as, its failure to provide succour to the common people who were facing several problems like price rice, unemployment, frequent power cut et al. He described the lathi charge as a pre-planned action on part of the police.Commissioner of Police B N Mishra, however, reacted strongly to the way the morchaites conducted themselves. ``The police are not meant for remaining mute sufferers to the excesses committed by the morcha people,'' he observed and insisted that the police were forced to resort to lathicharge. Some of the protestors not only roughed up police officers but also misbehaved with women police personnel, he pointed out.Earlier, led by Mohite, the 2,000-strong morcha reached Akashvani Bhavan at Civil Lines where it was halted. With some active encouragement by the leaders like Mohite, Dnyaneshwar Devgirkar, Dhanraj Fusey and Pravin Barde, the morchaites indulged in vociferous sloganeering, denouncing the Government for the problems faced by farmers, the jobless youth and common people.In between, the leaders were told by the police that a five-member delegation would be allowed to meet the District Collector. However, the leaders insisted against sending a delegation and demanded that the morcha be allowed to proceed to the point in front of the main entrance to the Collectorate.As the police put their foot down, the morchaites turned their ire towards the khaki-clan by raising slogans that, at times, bordered along insinuation.Knowing the Sena for what it is and the militant reputation it carries, a heavy bandobust was clamped around the halting point. DCP (Crime) Kulwant Kumar, ACP (Sadar) Sunil Phulari, Pachpaoli and Sadar PSOs Inspectors D.R. Moon and Vinod Phatak were assisting Dahate on the spot. Using public address system, the police repeatedly kept warning the morchaites against creating any untoward situation.Trouble started when the Sena supporters broke through the first barricade and resorted to stone-pelting while moving towards the second halting point. Police said some of the protestors roughed up the senior officers and even a few women police constables.To prevent the situation from going out of control, Dahate ordered the lathicharge. Several people were injured in the melee as the police went about showering blows of lathis for a few minutes till the crowd was dispersed. A police water tanker and some police vehicles were damaged in the incident.Meanwhile, District Guardian Minister Shivajirao Moghe observed that the police action can not be referred to as lathicharge considering that it was upto the morcha leaders to ensure an apt control over their supporters.
