Several parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai and Pune were tensed due to riots caused during the bicentenary celebrations of the historic 1818 battle of Bhima-Koregaon that concluded on Monday.
Riots in Pune killed one while injured five. Tremors of the violence were felt across several districts in western Maharashtra as well as the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions. Activists comprising of Dalit groups, social outfits and Ambedkarite parties issued condemnations of the January 1 violence.
Protesters halted local train services on the Harbour Line and blocked roads in several areas of Mumbai. They even forced shops to shut down and assaulted a journalist of a television news channel.
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The Central Railway stopped suburban services temporarily between Kurla and Vashi on its harbour corridor. However, now special services are running between CSMT-Kurla and Vashi-Panvel section.
Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) continued to be in force across Pune, Aurangabad and other districts in Marathwada. This action was taken in order to prevent storm clouds of a possible caste conflagration.
“We have deployed two companies of the State Reserve Police Force [SRPF] along with several Quick Response Teams [QRT] of the police positioned at sensitive points in Pune city under the supervision of senior police personnel,” said Commissioner of Police Rashmi Shukla.