Mumbai: The All India Majlis E Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has demanded resignation of Maharashtra Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the communal tension across the state and has also blamed the government for it.
"After losing power in Karnataka, the BJP wants to retain power in whichever possible way in Maharashtra. That is why they are fanning communal tension across the state," said AIMIM MP from Aurangabad Imtiyaz Jaleel, and added, "These are state sponsored riots."
Quit Home Department, Jaleel tells Fadnavis
Jaleel also demanded that Home minister Devendra Fadnavis should resign, stating that he has all the intelligence and all the power to stop if anything wrong is happening. The journalist turned MP, who was here at the state secretariat to follow up on some issues related to his constituency, also raised questions over the sudden sprouting of Aurangzeb's photographs all across the state.
"Aurangzeb ruled some 300 years ago. Nobody knew what he looked like. But, just after you came to power in the state his photographs are sprouting up from all corners of the state," Jaleel pointed out and said without naming Fadnavis, if you are not able to handle the Home Department with grace, better you should resign.
Meanwhile, the situation in Kolhapur is completely under control and life is returning to normalcy, police have said.
"The situation in Kolhapur city and district has become normal since yesterday afternoon, 4 SRPF companies, 300 Police constables and 60 officers have been deployed. At least 40 people have been injured in the incidents of stone pelting on Wednesday, while over 50 have been booked for 13 different incidents of rioting. Though there are no prohibitory orders, internet connection won't be resumed until Thursday midnight," Kolhapur SP Mahendra Pandit said.
Minors play a major role in the riots
Pandit also revealed that minors have played a major role in the riots. While all the five persons booked and taken into custody for keeping the status of Aurangzeb as status are minors, among the 36 arrested for rioting, three are minors, he said. Those booked for keeping the status on social media are college-going students. They will be produced before the court. It has been revealed that the status kept by one was copied by others, he added.
In all around 300-400 people have been booked so far for the riots. They will now be produced before the court. Some of them are minors. They will be produced before the juvenile court, Pandit added. He also denied that the riots were a failure of the police. He also said that the CCTV recordings have all been gathered and are being analyzed to ascertain the perpetrators of the riots. We haven't found anyone from outside so far, he added.
