Maha cops lathicharge stone-pelting mob during saffron bandh in Amravati

TIL Desk/National/Mumbai/ A mob hurled stones and damaged shops at various places in Amravati city of Maharashtra on Saturday during a bandh organised by a saffron body prompting the police to lathicharge the protesters, an official said.

The incident occurred during a bandh (shutdown) called by a saffron body against Friday’s stone-pelting incidents in Amravati city during rallies held by Muslim organisations in protest against the Tripura communal violence.

Hundreds of people, many of them holding saffron flags in their hands and raising slogans, came out on streets in Rajkamal Chowk area of this east Maharashtra city, located around 670 km from the state capital, in the morning.

Some members of the mob hurled stones at the shops and damaged them in the Rajkamal Chowk area and some other places, a police official said. He said the police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the protesters. The additional police force has been deployed at various places in Amravati, he said.

On Friday, over eight thousand people had gathered outside the Amravati district collector’s office to submit a memorandum demanding that atrocities against the minority community be stopped, officials had said.

When people were leaving after submitting the memorandum, stone-pelting took place at three places between Chitra Chowk and Cotton Market under the limits of the Kotwali police station. Kotwali Police has so far registered 11 FIRs under various charges including rioting. Ten persons were arrested, an official had said.