Nagpur, March 19: A terrible violence that wreaked panic in Nagpur, came under control on Wednesday after the mastermind of the riot Fahim Shamim Khan was intercepted and as many as 50 sympathizers were detained by the police.
Fahim Shamim Khan, a local leader of the Minorities Democratic Party (MDP) who contested as an MP candidate against Nitin Gadkari in the recently concluded elections, delivered an inflammatory address in a public meeting. It gave birth to a violent riot that erupted in the city on March 17, leaving several people injured.
Police following a deep-rooted investigation zeroed at Fahim, who was moving by the police station a few hours to the violence.
Khan’s arrest came just hours after his name was officially included in a complaint registered at Ganeshpeth Police Station.
To intercept Fahim soon the police released his photograph and a video surfaced showing Khan allegedly delivering an inflammatory speech moments before the violence broke out.
The 38-year-old minorities leader, who is holding the post of City President of the MDP, was remanded to police custody until March 21.
Worth mentioning, wide range violence flared in Nagpur's Chitnis Park area on Monday as clashes broke out over rumours of a community's holy book being desecrated during a right-wing protest demanding the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The unrest quickly escalated, with mobs pelting stones at police, leaving 34 security personnel injured.
A curfew continues in many sensitive areas of the city to deal with the anticipated eruption. At the same time, the whole Nagpur city has been placed in a tough security zone, to nullify the riot.
