New Delhi [India], March 18 : NCP Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel Tuesday downplayed the March 17 Nagpur incident of violence, emphasing that Opposition should not make a fuss about the incident.
He stated that the Opposition should appeal to public to maintain peace.
"The incident that happened in Nagpur is unfortunate. Such an incident never happens in Nagpur because it is a very peaceful city and people live together in harmony. This incident is not so big that the Opposition should make noise about it. They (Opposition) should appeal to the public to maintain peace," Patel told ANI.
Meanwhile, Nagpur DCP Niketan Kadam, who was injured during the Nagpur violence, said that the accused would be identified and legal action would be taken against them.
DCP Niketan Kadam said, "A huge crowd had gathered. After that, there was stone pelting, and vehicles were vandalised. We have a lot of CCTV footage available, in which some anti-social elements are seen roaming around with weapons."
Explaining the incident, he said that a crowd of 100 people suddenly came from a street who had weapons, petrol, and sticks. He tried to push them back.
"The way stones were being pelted from all sides, some of our officials were also injured. A crowd of 100 people suddenly came from another street. They had weapons, petrol, and sticks. My team was there, so my natural reaction was to stop them or push them back; otherwise, anything could have happened," he added.
Further, DCP Kadam elaborated, "So I moved forward and tried to stop them. Some of them moved back, but one of them had an axe. He came forward and attacked me, and I got a deep injury on my hand. But thankfully, no one from our team got hurt. Soon, they (the accused) will be identified, and legal action will be taken against them."
"CM (Devendra Fadnavis) called me and inquired about my health, and along with that, he also praised the entire Nagpur Police. This will increase the confidence of Nagpur Police, and we will continue to work courageously like this in the future too," he added.
A curfew was imposed in multiple areas of Nagpur city under Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) following tensions over the demand to remove Aurangzeb's grave. According to the official order issued by Nagpur Police Commissioner Ravinder Kumar Singal, the restrictions will remain in place until further notice.