Nagpur: The Nagpur District and Sessions Court on Monday granted bail to 80 individuals accused in the violent clashes that erupted in Nagpur’s Mahal locality in March this year.
Sessions Judge A R Kulkarni approved the bail on a surety bond of Rs 1 lakh each. These 80 people include local residents from Mahal, Gandhi Gate, Bhaldarpura, Mominpura, Gandhibagh, Sanjay Bagh Colony and nearby areas. Most of the accused persons are between 20 and 45 years of age. The bail decision was reserved by the court on June 26 and was announced on June 30.
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This follows a recent decision by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, which last week granted bail to nine others accused in the same case. The High Court noted that the investigation had been completed and a chargesheet filed, thus finding no justification for continued custody of the accused.
However, the bail application of the alleged mastermind and Minority Democratic Party’s City President Fahim Khan Shamin Khan will be heard separately on July 4. The Government lawyer told the court that Fahim Khan’s provocative WhatsApp messages and videos led to tension between two communities, which later turned into violence. An FIR was registered against him on March 18 by Ganeshpeth Police under charges including sedition based on a complaint by Assistant Police Inspector Jitendra Gade.
On the other hand, defence lawyers argued that the incident occurred due to the delay in registering Fahim’s complaint, which had hurt the religious feelings of a community. According to him, the anger was directed at the police, not against the Hindu community. He also pointed out that Fahim was not present at the scene and no objectionable material was found in his possession. Since the Government side needs to present more information, the court allowed more time and scheduled Fahim Khan’s bail hearing for July 4.
The court has put certain conditions on the 80 accused who were granted bail. They must appear at Ganeshpeth Police Station every Tuesday and Friday between 11 am and 2 pm. District Government Pleader Nitin Telgote represented the State, while Adv Ramesh Rawlani, Adv Atul Rawlani, Adv A K Bhangde, Adv Rafique Akbani, Adv Smita Adikane, Adv Ashwin Ingole appeared for the defense.
The violence took place on March 17 amid escalating tensions over the Aurangzeb tomb issue in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. A rumour regarding the burning of a holy Chadar (quilt) reportedly sparked the unrest. Around 500 to 600 people from the Muslim community gathered near the Chhatrapati Maharaj Statue at Gandhi Gate in Nagpur, raising slogans against the police.
According to the prosecution, the gathering soon turned violent as the crowd allegedly armed themselves with stones, petrol bombs, and other weapons, attacking police personnel. The violence resulted in damage to several police vehicles and public property. The prosecution further claimed that women police officers were abused and outraged during the incident, with four officers and 24 police constables sustaining injuries.
