Mumbai: 20 held for violence on Ram Navami in Malvani

The situation in Malvani in Malad West continued to be tense on Friday after the communal riots of Thursday night. The rampage flared when a Ram Navami procession meandered towards a masjid near Gate No. 7 in the densely populated colony. The police arrested 20 people on Friday and they were remanded to police custody till April 6 by the metropolitan magistrate’s court at Borivali.  

While the processionists, who numbered 7,000, claimed that they had silenced the loudspeakers while crossing the masjid, the rival group alleged that loud music was being played and provocative slogans were chanted. When the huge procession reached the Savera building near Gate No. 6, stones and chappals were allegedly hurled at the devotees. This resulted in a full-fledged riot between two large groups in which several persons were injured.

Drones to capture visuals during processions

The police claimed that barring in the case of a child, the injuries were “minor in nature”. The police team escorting the procession managed to bring the situation under control with the help of additional forces. An FIR was registered for rioting and other charges against 300 unidentified people and a house to house search was launched to track down the persons concerned. 

For security purposes, the police had already set up two drones fitted with cameras to capture the visuals during the procession. They detained 60 suspects from the riot and later arrested 20 using visual identification from the footage generated by the drones. The parents and relatives of the accused created a ruckus outside the Malvani police station demanding the release of “innocent” persons. However,  the policemen stood their ground.

Guardian minister of Mumbai suburban visited the riot scene

“We have arrested all accused using visual identification and appropriate legal action is being taken,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajay Bansal, who was on the spot throughout the night and the next day along with several senior police officers to make sure the situation remained under control. 

Maharashtra minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who belongs to the BJP and is the guardian minister of suburban Mumbai, visited the scene of the riot and assured that “the real culprits in this incident will be punished”.

Thursday’s riot at Malvani was the third one to take place on Ram Navami day. Incidents had happened at Aurangabad and Jalgaon as well.