Nagpur violence: Bulldozer will roll if needed, says CM Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister CM Devendra Fadnavis stated on Saturday that a bulldozer will roll if necessary when asked whether those involved in the Nagpur violence would face action similar to the Uttar Pradesh styleAddressing the media Fadnavis affirmed that the government would recover the cost of damage caused during the unrest from the rioters If they failed to compensate their properties would be seized and sold to cover the losses reported news agency PTIIn response to a query about the possibility of bulldozer action against rioters in Nagpur akin to the approach in Uttar Pradesh Fadnavis said The Maharashtra government has its own style of working bulldozer will roll when necessaryWherever wrong things are happening they will be crushed Nobody perpetrators will be spared he addedAccording to PTI the Maharashtra CM also emphasised that stringent action would be taken against those who attacked police officers during the unrest asserting that his government would not tolerate any form of disturbance However he dismissed the notion that the incident was an intelligence failure stating instead that intelligence gathering could have been better Police will be alert We wont tolerate any kind of disturbance he assuredFadnavis also informed that 104 individuals had been identified through CCTV footage and video analysis Legal action has been initiated against 92 people including 12 minorsPM Modi to visit Nagpur on March 30The violence broke out on Monday after rumours spread that a chadar bearing religious inscriptions had been burnt during a protest by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad VHP demanding the removal of Aurangzebs tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar The unrest resulted in widespread stonepelting and arson injuring 33 police personnel including three officers of Deputy Commissioner of Police rankMeanwhile Fadnavis confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modis scheduled visit to Nagpur on 30 March would proceed as plannedThe cost of properties damaged during Nagpur violence will be recovered from rioters and the failure to pay up would lead to the seizure and selling of their properties to recover losses My government will not rest until those responsible for attacking the police are found and dealt with sternly asserted Fadnavis who also heads the state Home MinistryAccording to PTI the CM mentioned that the situation in Nagpur had calmed down and efforts were underway to ease the curfew in affected areas Riots broke out only in parts of the city while 80 per cent of Nagpur wasnt impacted he clarifiedFadnavis said that compensation distribution for victims of Nagpur violence would begin soon Additionally 68 social media posts that aggravated the violence had been identified and removed He added that those responsible for circulating inflammatory content would be treated as coaccused for their role in inciting violenceFadnavis noted that it was too early to comment on a possible foreign or Bangladeshi connection to Nagpur violence as the investigation was ongoing However he claimed that there appeared to be a Malegaon connection as one of the accused reportedly from Malegaon was associated with a political party Without naming anyone he alluded to the arrest of Minority Democratic Party leader Fahim Khan on sedition chargesNagpur violence 105 people arrested so farRegarding allegations of rioters misbehaving with a female police constable Fadnavis said he had spoken to the Police Commissioner who confirmed that the purported incident had not occurred However he acknowledged that stones had been thrown at female constablesNotably an FIR had alleged that a group of rioters had inappropriately touched a woman constable and attempted to disrobe her during the violenceAddressing speculation that the violence in his hometown was orchestrated to target him politically Fadnavis dismissed such claims as baseless It is foolish to say such things There is no political angle to the violence he assertedDuring his visit to Nagpur following the violence the Chief Minister assessed the situation and chaired a meeting with senior police and administrative officers at the Police CommissionerateWhen asked about the Congress partyrsquos decision to send a committee to visit the violencehit areas Fadnavis noted that one of the committee members was accused in the Akola violence case If rioters are coming to enquire about riots it is akin to appeasement politics he remarkedNagpur Police reported that 105 individuals had been arrested so far in connection with the violence including Fahim KhanWith PTI inputs