PUNE: A mob of about 500 people that had held a protest rally against the communal riots in Dhule town in north Maharashtra last Sunday, yesterday indulged in heavy stone pelting opposite the office of the district collector and district superintendent of police and in some areas of Parbhani district in Marathwada region.
The mob set on fire several cars and bikes and stoned buses, which compelled the shops and establishments to pull down the shutters. The police swung into action and arrested five people from the mob and called for additional reinforcement to beef up security in the town and prevent any further escalation of violence.
A senior civic administration official told Arab News on phone, that the trouble erupted after a delegation from the mob had come to visit the district collector and hand him a memorandum condemning the Dhule communal riots. The leaders of the delegation were annoyed when they learned that the District Collector Mohan Thombre had gone out for lunch.
The mobs grew restless and the miscreants among them began pelting stones at vehicles passing in front of the collector’s office. The mob also pelted stones at 15 shops opposite the superintendent of police office, and at the State Bank of India branch and also set four cars and three bikes on fire nearby. Another group from the mob broke open some shops and looted it.
However, according to Thombre and District Superintendent of Police Manoj Lohiya, the situation was under control. The police did not identify as to which community the protesters belonged.
In another development, a mob of over 200 people yesterday afternoon indulged in heavy stone pelting in Aurangabad city creating widespread tension in the city. According to preliminary information, the mob resorted to heavy stone throwing in the Town Hall and Hudco locality.
