Violent Protests In Maharashtra’s Parbhani Over Constitution Replica Damage

Prohibitory orders were imposed in central Maharashtra’s Parbhani city on Wednesday as violent protests rocked the city for second day over the vandalising of a replica of the Indian Constitution, police said.

Amid the bandh called by Ambedkarite activists, a mob indulged in arson and the district collector’s office was vandalised, officials said.

Prohibitory orders were imposed in the city, banning the gathering of five or more persons in public places, and a company of the State Reserve Police Force has been called in to help maintain law and order, said a senior official.

A glass-encased cement replica of the Constitution outside Parbhani railway station, close to a statue of Dr B R Ambedkar, was found to have been damaged on Tuesday, sparking protests.

Police arrested a man in connection with the incident, but protests resumed on Wednesday morning.

“PVC pipes outside a shop were set ablaze around 1 pm today. As the mob became violent, police fired tear gas shells and dispersed them,” said acting Superintendent of Police Yeshwant Kale.

The protesters were demanding that police should find who was behind Tuesday’s incident of vandalising, he told PTI.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the collector’s office, and some of them including women activists rushed inside and damaged furniture and window panes before police brought the situation under control, said Inspector General of Police Shahji Umap.

Protesters were supposed to hand over a memorandum to the collector in the morning and return peacefully, but some of them attacked signboards of shops and CCTVs along the way and tyres were also burnt on the road, he said.

Bandh was also observed in Vasmat area of the district, local officials said.

Protesters had blocked the railway tracks at Parbhani station on Tuesday evening and roughed up the loco-pilot of the Nandigram Express.

IG Umap who reviewed the law and order situation appealed people not to target public property and resort to violence.

Varsha Gaikwad, Ambedkarite leader and Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai, demanded a thorough investigation. “How can anyone insult the Constitution….those arrested should be thoroughly questioned to find who is the mastermind,” she said.

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar blamed the initial “lax approach” of the government and local administration after the incident came to light. Had necessary action been taken promptly, the violence could have been avoided, he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said desecration of the Constitution’s replica was condemnable. Demanding strict action against the culprits, he also appealed to the protesters to conduct their agitation peacefully.