Nagpur violence: 69 arrested amid row over Aurangzeb’s tomb, Bangladesh angle emerges — What we know so far

The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb, located in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, became the center of the controversy in Maharashtra with political leaders trading barbs over the violence that erupted in Nagpur on March 17. According to police, 12 policemen, including 3 DCPs, were injured in the violence.

A curfew was imposed in multiple areas of Nagpur city under Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) following tensions over the demand to remove Aurangzeb's grave, read an official Maharashtra police notification. The restrictions will remain in place until further notice.

The curfew applies to police station limits in Kotwali, Ganeshpeth, Tehsil, Lakadganj, Pachpaoli, Shantinagar, Sakkardara, Nandanvan, Imamwada, Yashodharanagar, and Kapilnagar.

What triggered Nagpur violence?

The trouble began on Monday after Bajrang Dal members demonstrated near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Nagpur's Mahal area, seeking the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb.

According to police, rumours spread that ‘chadar’ with holy inscriptions was burnt during the agitation. Videos of the Bajrang Dal demonstration quickly went viral on social media, leading to outrage among members of the Muslim community, PTI reported.

A mob of nearly 1,000 people allegedly engaged in large-scale stone-pelting, vandalism, and arson, injuring several police personnel and damaging multiple vehicles and homes.

Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob in Chitnis Park and Mahal areas. Violence also reportedly spread to Kotwali and Ganeshpeth in the late afternoon, officials said.

An official said stones were thrown at police personnel in Chitnis Park and Mahal areas, following which police fired tear gas shells.

A complaint was lodged at Ganeshpeth police station in the evening alleging the burning of the holy book. Following the complaint, a large number of Muslim community members started gathering in various parts of the city, including Mahal, Kotwali, Ganeshpeth, and Chitanvis Park, police said.

Bajrang Dal office-bearers, however, refuted the allegations and claimed that they had only burned an effigy of Aurangzeb as part of their demonstration.

Here's what has happened since the violence: 10 points

1. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis countered the rumours on Wednesday, saying no `chadar' or cloth with verses was burnt during a protest in Nagpur city. He vowed to "dig out from their graves" those who attacked police during the subsequent violence.

"Whatever happened two days ago was a planned incident by a few people. I am not blaming any community....we did not find any 'Ayat' (verse) on the cloth that was burnt," said the CM.

2. Maharashtra Cyber Cell identified individuals who posted provocative content on social media amid recent violence in Nagpur.

3. Bangladesh angle: According to NDTV, the cyber cell identified a Facebook account operated from Bangladesh, which threatened to incite large-scale riots in Nagpur. The report cited police as saying that this post was made by a Bangladeshi user, in which he wrote that last Monday's riot was just a small incident and there will be bigger riots in the future.

4. Maharashtra Cyber also identified and reported more than 140 objectionable contents, including posts and videos, across social media platforms aimed at inciting communal unrest regarding the Nagpur violence, officials said on Wednesday. These videos and posts were found uploaded on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube, an official said.

He said notices have been issued under section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology (IT) Act 2000 to facilitate the immediate take-down of such content. Moreover, notices were also served under section 94 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to uncover the real identities of the individuals operating these accounts.

5. Minority Democratic Party (MDP) leader Fahim Khan was arrested for allegedly leading a protest outside a Nagpur police station on Monday, officials said on Wednesday.

Police have so far arrested 69 people, including eight Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers, in connection with the Nagpur violence, officials said on Wednesday.

"School-going boys, computer engineers and working people who had come home for Ramzan are among those arrested," a defence lawyer was quoted by PTI as saying

6. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the Maharashtra Assembly that an investigation is underway into the recent violence in Nagpur.

"The investigation is underway in the Nagpur violence case...There is peace in the city at present. There have been no riots here in the past several years...Some people did all this deliberately... The rumour was deliberately spread...There are many challenges on the issue of law and order, and we will be able to meet them," Fadnavis said in the state assembly.

7. Maharashtra legislative council Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe on Wednesday directed the DGP to conduct an immediate inquiry into the alleged harassment of a woman police constable during a violent clash in Nagpur.

Official earlier claimed that a group of rioters allegedly touched the constable inappropriately and tried to disrobe her during the violence on Monday after protests against Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb.

8. Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal slammed the state government for organising dinner parties for elected representatives two days after violence swept Nagpur city.

9. The RSS on Wednesday condemned the recent violence in Nagpur, saying any form of violence is detrimental to the society's well-being and described the 17th-century Mughal emperor Aurangzeb as "irrelevant".

10. Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray said, "I think the BJP wants to make Maharashtra the next Manipur...Why did no reaction come from the CMO when violence was spreading in Nagpur?..."