Daijiworld Media Network - Pune
Pune, Feb 16: Pune City Police have registered two separate cases against leaders and workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress after violence broke out near Congress Bhavan on Sunday during protests over remarks made by Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal.
According to police, stone-pelting erupted when BJP workers confronted Congress activists protesting against Sapkal’s alleged comments equating Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with Tipu Sultan. Nine persons were injured in the clashes, including party workers from both sides, two police personnel and two journalists.
One FIR has been registered against BJP Pune city unit president Dhiraj Ghate, BJP youth wing (BJYM) Pune chief Dushyant Mohol and 50–60 other BJP workers. The case was lodged at Shivajinagar Police Station based on a complaint by Prachi Nitin Dudhane, a 42-year-old homemaker from Karve Nagar. She alleged that between 12.30 pm and 2 pm on February 15, BJP workers gathered outside Congress Bhavan, raised slogans, pelted stones, injured three Congress workers and damaged vehicles.
A second case has been filed against Congress city president Arvind Shinde, two other local leaders and several unidentified Congress workers following a counter-complaint by the BJP. The BJP alleged that Congress activists engaged in stone-pelting, injuring two BJP workers and two women police personnel.
Police said the cases have been registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 118(1) (causing hurt using dangerous means), 189 (unlawful assembly) and 324(4) (mischief), along with relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act. No arrests have been made so far. Senior officers visited the scene and electronic evidence has been collected. Further investigation is under way.
The violence followed protests outside Congress Bhavan after an FIR was registered against Sapkal in Pune over remarks made during a discussion on the controversy surrounding a portrait of Tipu Sultan displayed at the office of the Malegaon Municipal Corporation deputy mayor. BJP leaders alleged that Sapkal’s statement hurt the sentiments of those who revere Shivaji Maharaj.
On Sunday, BJP workers led by local leaders staged a protest outside Congress Bhavan, while Congress workers gathered in support of their state president. As tensions escalated around 1 pm, workers from both sides reportedly climbed compound walls and engaged in stone-pelting, resulting in injuries and damage to vehicles. Multiple police teams were deployed to bring the situation under control.