Maharashtra: Lathicharge in Amravati as stones hurled during saffron bandh

During a bandh called by a saffron organisation in Amravati, Maharashtra, on Saturday, a mob flung stones and damaged stores in multiple locations, prompting police to use lathicharge against the demonstrators. According to an official, the police have enforced a curfew in Amravati city due to violent protests.

The event occurred during a bandh (shutdown) organised by a saffron body in response to stone-pelting incidents in Amravati city on Friday during Muslim organisations' rallies in protest of communal violence in Tripura.

Hundreds of people, many of them waving saffron flags and shouting slogans, flocked to the streets of Rajkamal Chowk in this east Maharashtra city, about 670 kilometres from the state capital.

According to a police official, several members of the mob threw stones at shops in the Rajkamal Chowk area and elsewhere, causing damage.

According to him, the cops used lathicharge to disperse the demonstrators.

He said the extra police force has been deployed at several locations in Amravati.

Officials stated that around 8,000 people gathered outside the Amravati district collector's office on Friday to present a statement seeking an end to crimes against the minority population.

When individuals were departing after delivering the memorandum, stone-pelting occurred at three locations within the Kotwali police station, between Chitra Chowk and Cotton Market.

So far, the Kotwali Police Department has filed 11 FIRs on various offences, including rioting. An official stated that ten people had been arrested.