CM Devendra Fadnavis arrives in Nagpur for the first time after violence

Maharashtra Chief Minister CM Devendra Fadnavis arrived in Nagpur late on Friday evening for the first time after Vidarbhas largest city experienced violence earlier this week news agency PTI reportedStonepelting and arson were reported in several parts of Nagpur on Monday following rumours that a chadar with holy inscriptions had been burned during protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad VHP which was calling for the removal of Aurangzebs tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar districtThe CM will be staying overnight in Nagpur and has no public engagements an official confirmed According to PTI sources indicated that he may meet the media on Saturday and visit the riotaffected areas of the cityEarlier in the day the CM stated that social media posts should have been tracked more effectively on the day of the violence in Nagpur as it would have helped the police understand what was being planned However he denied that there was any intelligence failure asserting that the police response was appropriate and could not be deemed inadequateSome social media posts had content in Bengali which is also spoken in Bangladesh It needs to be ascertained whether this is part of a larger design the CM said at an eventHe added that social media should have been monitored more closely in the afternoon the day the violence erupted It was not done the way it should have been said the CM who hails from Nagpur and heads the home departmentCourt sends 17 Nagpur violence accused in police custody until SaturdayMessages were sent via social media calling for people to gather Fadnavis explained adding that these individuals are being arrested We have the capability but the habit of tracking social media posts needs to be inculcated Had social media been tracked properly that afternoon we would have known what was being planned he saidDuring the Nagpur violence the problem was not on the main roads but in narrow lanes Fadnavis noted The police showed the courage to venture into these lanes and face the situation Thatrsquos why the situation did not escalate he said defending the policeEarlier police had stated that they had identified and reported more than 140 objectionable posts and videos across social media platforms aimed at inciting communal unrest over the Nagpur violence Thirtythree police personnel including three Deputy Commissioner of Policerank officers were injured during the violence on MondayA court in Nagpur has remanded 17 accused in the case into police custody until Saturday PTI reported Police have charged Fahim Khan the key accused in the violence and five others with sedition and spreading misinformation on social mediaOn Tuesday Fadnavis assured the Maharashtra Assembly that no one involved in the Nagpur violence would be spared He also stated that the film Chhaava based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj depicted true history which had led to peoples emotions overflowing The people are showing their anger towards Aurangzeb Fadnavis said referring to renewed calls from various groups to remove the Mughal emperorrsquos tomb from Khultabad in Chhatrapati SambhajinagarMeanwhile when asked which Thackeray mdash Uddhav or Raj mdash he is closest to Fadnavis responded In the last five years I had no ties with Uddhav ji and I have been in touch with Raj There is no fight with Uddhav If we come across each other we talk but there are no ties leftHe also confirmed that the ruling Mahayuti comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party NCP will contest local body elections including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation together There could be one or the other civic body where an alliance might not work out But the overall resolve is to contest together he addedWith PTI inputs