Nagpur violence updates: Heavy police presence in Mahal after clashes over Aurangzeb tomb; 15 arrested

Violence broke out in Maharashtra’s Nagpur on Monday night following rumours that a holy book was burned during a protest by a right-wing group demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb.

A curfew has been enforced in several parts of Nagpur under Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) due to rising tensions. The curfew applies to the jurisdiction of police stations in Kotwali, Ganeshpeth, Tehsil, Lakadganj, Pachpaoli, Shantinagar, Sakkardara, Nandanvan, Imamwada, Yashodharanagar, and Kapilnagar.

Clashes erupted in the Chitnis Park area of Mahal around 7:30 pm, with stones hurled at police, leaving six civilians and three officers injured, according to PTI.

The unrest later spread to Kotwali and Ganeshpeth, intensifying in the evening. Nearly 1,000 people were involved in large-scale stone-pelting, vandalism, and arson, damaging multiple vehicles and homes.

According to the Nagpur Police Commissioner quoted by news agency ANI, the violence peaked between 8-8:30 pm, prompting security forces to intervene.

Violence spread to Nagpur’s Hansapuri area, where unidentified individuals vandalised shops, torched vehicles, and pelted stones following an earlier clash in Mahal that had escalated tensions. A fresh clash erupted near Old Bhandara Road between 10.30 pm and 11.30 pm, during which a mob set several vehicles on fire and damaged houses and a clinic.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Nitin Gadkari have urged people to maintain peace and harmony following the violence. According to police, quoted by news agency PTI, the unrest began in the late afternoon after Bajrang Dal members staged a demonstration near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Mahal.

Rumours spread that the Quran was burned during the protest, triggering outrage within the Muslim community as videos of the demonstration circulated on social media. A complaint alleging the burning of the holy book was filed at Ganeshpeth police station in the evening.

Latest developments

• Following the violence, Nagpur Police have enforced prohibitory orders and detained over 20 people. Nagpur police commissioner Ravinder Singal said that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita has been imposed, allowing magistrates to issue immediate preventive orders in urgent situations to prevent obstruction, threats to human life, public unrest, or riots. These orders can be directed at individuals, specific areas, or the general public.

• Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage and video clips to identify those involved, and an FIR is being registered. Police have urged citizens to remain calm and cooperate.

• Ravinder Singal assured residents that the situation is under control and peaceful. Section 144 has been enforced, and people have been advised not to venture out unnecessarily.

• Maharashtra Minority Commission Chairman Pyare Khan described the violence in Nagpur’s Mahal area as “very unfortunate,” urging people to maintain peace. He claimed that the perpetrators were outsiders, not locals, and had come to disrupt the city’s communal harmony.

• Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal criticized the state home department, calling the violence a failure of the administration. He alleged that ministers had been “deliberately making provocative speeches” in the days leading up to the unrest.