Gujarat: Stones thrown at Ganesh pandal in Surat; six arrested

Gujarat home minster Harsh Sanghavi said on Sunday that six people had been arrested in the Sayedpura area of Surat after they allegedly pelted stones at a Ganesh pandal.

“In the Sayedpura area of Surat, 6 people pelted stone on the Ganesh Pandal. All these 6 people were arrested and the police have also arrested the other 27 people who were involved in encouraging such an incident,” he said.

Police have been dispatched to various parts of Surat.

Surat police commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot told ANI, “Some children pelted stones at a Ganesh pandal, after which a clash broke out. The police immediately took away those children from there.”

He added, “With the help of CCTV footage and video cameras, we are identifying the real culprits.”

The police also carried out lathi charges and used teargas while trying to find the perpetrators. All those who allegedly disturbed the otherwise peaceful event were rounded up by the police. The Surat commissioner stated that 1,000 people personnel had been deployed to maintain law and order in the city.

The investigation into the case is still ongoing.

Protests erupted in the city after the stone pelting incident.

Meanwhile, in Kolkata, many committees have used their Ganesh pandals as a means to register protest and condemn the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar hospital on August 9.

Many Ganesh pandals in Kolkata featured messages calling for justice for the victim and her family, with festivities maintaining a sombre tone in view of the murder and subsequent agitation.