45 persons held for Nagpur violence; 34 cops injured: Guardian minister

At least 45 persons have been arrested in connection with the violence in Nagpur during which 34 police personnel and five other persons suffered injuries, district guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said on Tuesday.

Two of the injured persons were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in a hospital here, Bawankule told reporters at the Nagpur airport, as he arrived here to review the situation following the incident on Monday.

Besides, 45 vehicles were also vandalised during the violence, the minister said, and appealed to members of all the communities to maintain peace in the city and not support any anti-social elements.Strict action will be taken against those who perpetrated the violence, he said.

Bawankule said he will meet the Nagpur police commissioner and district collector and conduct a review of the entire incident."I have been been directed by the chief minister for the same," he said.

Violence erupted in central Nagpur on Monday evening, with stones hurled at police amid rumours that the holy book of a community was burnt during an agitation by a right-wing body for the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb (located in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district), officials earlier said.

Bawankule said police have arrested 40 to 45 persons in connection with the violence.Stones were pelted at police during the violence and 33 to 34 police personnel got injured, he said."Five citizens were also injured. Out of them, two are in the ICU and three were discharged in the morning," he said.

Bawankule said the government was monitoring social media accounts to track those spreading rumours.The government was also finding out who spread rumours on Monday, which led to the violence, the minister said.

"The government's stand is that the Hindu and Muslim communities has always lived together in harmony, and such an incident never happened before (in Nagpur)," he said.Action would be taken against the anti-social elements behind the violence, the district guardian minister said.

He appealed to members of all the communities to maintain peace in the city and and not support such anti-social elements.Bawankule said he will also meet the police personnel and other persons injured in the violence.Earlier in the day, the police said curfew has been imposed in several areas of the city in the wake of the violence.

During the curfew, the area's DCP concerned would decide on vehicular movement as per the need, the police said.