Bandh in Parbhani turns violent, 40 held

MUMBAI: Over 40 people have been detained after violence erupted in the Parbhani district of Marathwada region on Wednesday during a bandh called to protest the vandalism of a replica of the Constitution placed near a statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

- Saurabha Kulshreshtha

Protesters set vehicles ablaze and pelted stones at shops, prompting the police to deploy tear gas. Authorities also imposed prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and called in two platoons of the state reserve police force (SRPF), even as the situation was brought under control in a few hours, officials said.

The unrest began Tuesday evening when Sopan Pawar, a resident of Murtizapur village in the Parbhani tehsil, allegedly vandalised a replica of the Constitution kept in a glass box at the base of Ambedkar's statue near the collector's office. Local activists apprehended Pawar and handed him over to the police.

The incident led to an uproar, as protestors blocked roads and vandalised a few vehicles on Tuesday evening, which led to authorities calling for a bandh on Wednesday. While the bandh remained largely peaceful, violence broke out around 1 pm, when a mob began pelting stones at shops and setting vehicles and PVC pipes outside shops on fire. The mob damaged over 15 vehicles, including trucks, four-wheelers, and two-wheelers.