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Maharashtra: Police scotch rumours on desecration of Shivaji statue, arrest 11 in Beed

More than 100 people were also booked for pelting stones at state transport buses and clashing with police.

Maharashtra: Police scotch rumours on desecration of Shivaji statue, arrest 11 in Beed Police posted photos of the statue to dispel rumours.

Eleven people have been arrested in Beed for allegedly spreading rumours on the social media that a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj located at the centre of the town was vandalised by people protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) on December 20.

Violence had erupted in Beed town after more than 2,000 people had gathered at a rally to protest against the newly amended legislation and the NRC last week. Police had resorted to lathi-charge and used tear gas to disperse the crowd. More than 100 people were also booked for pelting stones at state transport buses and clashing with police.

During the melee, a few locals reportedly took to the social media claiming that the protestors had lobbed stones at a Shivaji statue. As the posts began to gather attention on December 21, the police took high-resolution photos of the statue and published them on its website, besides its official Facebook and Twitter accounts, to clarify that the statue had not been damaged.

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“People, who spread the rumour, had posted (online) that the protestors had targeted the statue and that it had been damaged. The posts were false and spread to communalise the situation,” said Harssh Poddar, Superintendent of Police, Beed.

Police registered eight cases under the Indian Penal Code for circulating the messages with an intent to incite tension among different communities and arrested nine persons on December 21. Two other accused were arrested Monday, police said.

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The arrests were made by police stations at Gevrai, Pimpalner, Majalgaon city, Dharur, Sirasala and Neknur talukas, while the accused have been identified as Santosh Bhosale, Sachin Dabhade, Ravi Kale, Amol Paul, Satish Bote, Balasaheb Patharkar, Deepak Ghate, Sagar Shinde, Sachin Sakrate, Sharad Lokare and Rahul Jogdand, all aged between 18 and 30 years.

“We have issued a warning to citizens not to spread rumours on social media. The offences under which the accused have been arrested carry a three-year prison term,” Poddar said.

First uploaded on: 25-12-2019 at 13:49 IST
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