Nashik (PTI): At least 10 police personnel received injuries in stone-pelting after a protest march against the sexual assault on two women in Manipur turned violent at Satana town in Maharashtra's Nashik district, officials said.
Several persons have been detained in connection with the incident which took place on Saturday evening and the situation has been brought under control, Superintendent of Police (SP) Shahaji Umap said.
The march was organised by the Eklavya Adivasi Sanghatana, a few other tribal organisations and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi to condemn the incident in Manipur where two women were paraded naked and sexually assaulted by a mob on May 3.
Thousands of young men, some of them with their torsos bare as a mark of protest, took part in the march, a local police official said.
When the march, which started from the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar statue, reached near the tehsil office, some participants started a sit-in agitation in front of the Satana police station, demanding that local BJP MLA Dilip Borse accept their memorandum, he said.
The police officials told them the MLA could not accept their memorandum as he was attending the assembly session in Mumbai, he said.
There were heated arguments and some of the protesters pelted stones at the police and passing vehicles which forced the police to use "mild lathicharge", the official said.
There was tension in the town and shops and other commercial establishments downed their shutters following the incident.
"Ten police personnel were injured in the incident and we have taken 21 people, who indulged in stone-pelting, into custody. The incident took place after the protest march. Additional force was called in immediately. The situation is now peaceful," SP Umap told reporters on Saturday.
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Bengaluru: Channapatna JD(S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who lost the byelection to C.P. Yogeshwar of Congress, on Sunday consoled a fan who reportedly attempted to end his life and requested him not to repeat such acts.
Manjunath, fondly called Abhi, had even penned a letter before taking the dangerous step. Nikhil, who called on Manjunath at the latter’s home in Kudloor in Channapatna, expressed shock and sadness over the incident.
Nikhil Kumaraswamy reassured Manjunath, expressing his support during the difficult time. He told him that he was deeply troubled to learn of this incident and emphasised that he would stand by him. Nikhil also promised to offer assistance in any way he could, including helping him secure employment opportunities in the future, as reported by the Deccan Herald.
He also reminded Manjunath of the importance of his children’s well-being, urging him to focus on their future. “Please, look at the faces of your growing children. Even I have a three-year-old son. The children are young, let us take care of their future also. I will arrange some job opportunities for you. I might not be an MLA but this is a challenge. I will get you employed,” he said.
Nikhil told media persons that he is extremely hurt more by Manjunath’s attempt to die than by his loss in the election. “At 7:30 a.m., we got a message that in Valetoopu, Manjunath had consumed poison yesterday. In Channapatna, our workers and leaders have built this party with zeal. Let the admiration be there in your hearts but if it crosses the line, your families get hurt and we get very pained by it,” he was quoted as saying by the publication.
Speaking of his byelection loss, Nikhil reiterated that the JD(S) had got its traditional votes, but that the votes of a particular community went against the party.
“Deve Gowda gave reservation to a community. We tried our last attempt to take that community into confidence. But they conveyed to us that they do not require us. In future, we will take other communities into confidence,” he remarked in a veiled reference to Muslims.
Nikhil lost the election by a margin of 25,413 votes to Congress candidate C.P. Yogeshwar.