Author:
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: March 10, 2001
Violence erupted in Pune, Aurangabad
and some other towns of Marathwada on Friday after rumours of the Koran
being desecrated did the rounds in certain localities of the cities.
In Aurangabad, police fired in the
air after molotov cocktails were hurled by an irate mob which also set
ablaze a police van. A police officer was injured.
Police have cordoned off the area adjoining a prayer hall near Aam Khas.
In Pune, at least 15 persons, including
seven policemen, were injured and a police chowkey ransacked.
Police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse stone-pelting mobs.
Incidents of arson and stone-pelting were also reported from Parbhani,
Jalna and Nanded districts though details were not available.
In Pune, more than a dozen vehicles
were damaged when a mob ran amok, ransacking the Ghorpade Peth police chowkey
in Ganj Peth and nearby houses and shops on Laxmi Road.
Pune Police Commissioner K K Kashyap
described the situation as ``delicate but under control'' but tension continued
to grip several parts of the city till late in the night.
(In Mumbai, Maharashtra Deputy Chief
Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, while admitting that he had received reports
of sporadic incidents from some cities in the State, said the trouble had
been triggered by ``wrong press reports about burning of pages of Koran
in New Delhi, published in some Hyderabad-based publications.''
While maintaining that ``the law
and order situation was fully under control,'' Bhujbal said ``it was a
well known fact that Pakistan's ISI was bent on fomenting trouble in the
country.'' He appealed to the people and the media not to give credence
to such rumours and maintain peace in the State.)
A huge posse of armed policemen,
assisted by two companies of State Reserve Police Force, was patrolling
Pune's old city, keeping at bay groups out to create trouble.
Additional police reinforcements have also been summoned.
While police officials were organising
meetings of peace committees, a massive crackdown was launched against
anti-social elements. A large number of people have been arrested.
``A fitting reply will be given to those who resort to violence,'' Kashyap
said, banning the assembly of five or more persons at public places.
Trouble in Pune started in Ganj
Peth around 1.45 pm on Friday when a group put up some provocative posters.
This agitated people who gathered there and they then resorted to stone
pelting. Some houses in the area and the nearby Ghorpade Peth
police chowkey were targeted. Local residents alleged that
the trouble-makers were wielding sticks, iron rods and swords.
The affected areas include downtown
Ghorpade Peth, Guruwar Peth, Nana Peth and Ganj Peth areas, Lohiyanagar
and Kasewadi slums as well assome parts of Pune Cantonment.
Some residents said provocative
posters were put up by a youth. ``These posters were photocopies
of images purportedly downloaded from the internet. Soon after
the posters surfaced, groups of people fanned out shouting slogans.''
As the unruly crowd moved out, one
lot attacked the Ghorpade Peth police chowkey while another section moved
towards the direction of Laxmi Road. Policemen who landed there
resorted to a mild lathicharge to disperse people who were pelting stones
and attacking passers-by.
