Fadnavis warns Nagpur rioters: 'Will be dug out from their graves, won't be spared'

In a stern warning to the perpetrators of the Nagpur violence, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday declared that those who attacked the police would be “dug out from their graves” and brought to justice.

His statement came amid outrage over rioters allegedly touching a woman constable inappropriately and attempting to disrobe her during the Monday night violence. The mob had hurled stones and petrol bombs, injuring 33 police personnel, including three DCP-rank officers.

“Those who attacked police during the arson in Nagpur will be dug out from their graves. Attacks on police are unpardonable. They will get the strictest punishment. We won’t spare them,” Fadnavis said in the Assembly while responding to a debate on the Budgetary demands of the Home Department.

He asserted that the violence was premeditated and aimed at disturbing social harmony. However, he also clarified that his stance was not contradictory to that of the Nagpur police commissioner, who had stated that the investigation would determine whether the violence was pre-planned.

Fadnavis reassured that the situation in Nagpur is now under control, adding that the city has a history of peace and communal harmony. “No riot occurred in the city after 1992. The violence was planned by some people. Only a replica of Aurangzeb’s grave was burnt (during the VHP’s protest). We have verified that no ayat (verses from the Quran) was burnt. But rumours were spread deliberately,” he said.

He warned that those who deliberately circulated false information to incite violence will face strict action. Several arrests have already been made, he added.

The violence erupted on Monday night in central Nagpur, where mobs damaged vehicles, hurled petrol bombs and stones at police, and attacked houses. The immediate trigger was rumours that a ‘chadar’ with holy inscriptions had been burned during a VHP-led protest demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.

(With inputs from PTI)