A Shiv Sena-BJP sponsored Pune bandh to protest the removal of the statue of Dadoji Kondadev, considered the mentor of Shivaji, began on a violent note today with agitators pelting stones at buses leaving eight of them damaged. Some Sena workers have been detained by police as a preventive measure. The saffron alliance had given a call for the bandh after the NCP-Congress ruled Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) removed the statue of Dadoji from the sculpture at "Lal Mahal" yesterday, pursuant to a resolution passed by the civic body to that effect. The decision followed a persistent demand for a pro-Maratha outfit "Sambhaji Brigade". The agitators also tried to disrupt rail traffic at Lonavala on Mumbai-Pune section of the central railway, sources said. PMC authorities had yesterday removed the statue which had become a bone of contention following persistent demand by pro-Maratha outfit 'Sambhaji Brigade' opposing its presence at the Mahal, along with sculptures of Jijabai, mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji and young age image of the Maratha warrior king. The 'Brigade' had alleged that after publication of the controversial book written by American author James Laine, which supposedly contained defamatory references to Shivaji's parentage, it was necessary to remove the statue of Dadoji, considered mentor of Shivaji, and replace it with Shahaji Raje, his father.

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A Shiv Sena-BJP sponsored Pune bandh to protest the removal of the statue of Dadoji Kondadev, considered the mentor of Shivaji, began on a violent note today with agitators pelting stones at buses leaving eight of them damaged

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