Nagpur clashes: Accused circulated edited videos; glorified violence, says cyber cell official

One of the accused in the Nagpur violence case “edited and circulated videos” and “glorified violence” on social media, leading to the riots spreading in various parts of the city, Maharashtra's Police's Cyber Cell said on Thursday.

“He (Fahim Khan) edited and circulated the video of the protest against Aurangzeb, which caused the riots to spread. He also glorified violent videos,” cyber cell's Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Lohit Matani told ANI.

Four FIRs filed

The police have registered four FIRs in connection with the riots which took place on Monday night in Nagpur.

"Four FIRs have been registered. The first FIR is that videos of the protest against Aurangzeb were edited and circulated, and violence was glorified in the videos. The second is about making clips about the violence and spreading them so that there would be violence between two communities. Third is multiple posts were made in which violence was further instigated," Matani said.

Fahim Khan, allegedly the mastermind behind the violence in Nagpur, was arrested on March 19, and has been remanded in custody till March 21. Khan, 38, is a leader of the Minorities Democratic Party (MD) and had contested the Lok Sabha 2024 elections from the Nagpur constituency.

Preliminary investigation suggested that Fahim Khan allegedly delivered an inflammatory speech shortly before the clashes broke out. Police officials claimed that his address incited communal tensions in the area, triggering violence.

City limps back to normalcy

Earlier today, Nagpur's Collector, Vipin Itankar, said that normalcy has been restored in the area, but curfew is still in place in some parts of the city.

Speaking to ANI, Itankar said, “Normalcy has been restored, but a curfew is imposed in some parts. We are in touch with the police on this.”

The collector added that the government is currently assessing the damage to civilian property and will provide compensation to those affected.

“The government will assess the damages to property suffered by civilians in this incident to release compensation. As per the initial assessment, 50-60 two-wheelers, 10-15 four-wheelers, cranes and some 5-10 houses were damaged. A team doing Panchmana is on the job,” he said.

Nagpur Police have arrested 50 people, including seven minors, following the violent clashes that erupted on March 17, an official said on Wednesday.

The arrests were made following an investigation into the unrest, during which CCTV cameras were also damaged. Authorities are probing the involvement of the alleged mastermind and assessing the sequence of events leading up to the violence.

Violence broke out in the city after protests against Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb on March 17.

(With inputs from ANI)