On Wednesday, Faheem Khan, Minority Democratic Party city president, was arrested in relation to the violent clash that took place on March 17 in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
Police have named Khan as the mastermind behind the communal violence that left many people injured, including police personnel. Khan was produced in court, where he was remanded in police custody till March 21.
Khan is among 51 persons mentioned in an FIR in connection with the violence. The 38-year-old, who is classically educated up to Class 10, has been charged with inciting the mob. Khan is alleged to have been at the forefront of instigating the agitation, as per the FIR.
Interestingly, Khan was the initial one to visit the police station to give a statement and was said to be the one to mobilize a crowd of 30 to 40 individuals around 11 a.m., preceding a protest that was organized by VHP and Bajrang Dal, calling for the uprooting of Aurangzeb's tomb. Khan's statement blames the VHP and Bajrang Dal for causing a ruckus by mobilizing the protest. This being the case, he reportedly rallied the mob and went a step further in inciting them by asserting that the police, purportedly members of the Hindu community, were not helping them.
The FIR lodged at the Ganesh Peth police station also lists charges of conspiring to rape, molest, and sexually harass women at the time of the violence. Initial investigations indicate that the violence was planned, with a clear intent to target police staff. The police are also investigating how the mob procured a trolley full of stones and how they managed to mobilize such a huge crowd for the protest.
Faheem Khan, who had earlier fought the state Assembly polls but lost, has been accused of being behind the current unrest. Authorities have meanwhile clamped a curfew in the areas under the control of 11 police stations in Zones 3, 4, and 5 of Nagpur city.
People in these zones have been asked to remain indoors unless unavoidable and are not allowed to congregate in groups of more than five. But life elsewhere in Nagpur is as usual, with normal public transport services and citizens going about their routine.
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