Religious tensions escalated during the Ganesh Visarjan procession in Dhanki village, Yavatmal district, Maharashtra on September 17, after members of a pro-Hindu group allegedly vandalized Muslim homes and vehicles.
The violence reportedly erupted following allegations of stone-pelting, which Hindu groups claim damaged a Ganesh idol, leading to the arrest of 13 Muslim men, including 74-year-old Aziz Khan, a respected member of the local inter-religious peace committee.
The aftermath of the violence left several Muslim homes with broken glass windows and widespread damage to vehicles in the area.
According to local sources, the unrest began when the Ganesh procession, led by the Shri Ram Bal Ganesh Mandal, deviated from its traditional route at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje Chowk and passed through a predominantly Muslim neighborhood.
This change in route, which reportedly lacked police approval, fueled tensions that had been simmering since the start of the Ganesh festival on September 7.
Hindu devotees, who alleged that stones were thrown at the Ganesh idol during the procession, refused to proceed with the immersion until those responsible were arrested. Despite assurances from the police, the crowd took an aggressive stance, leading to the arrest of 13 Muslims, and the booking of 70 others, mostly Muslim residents.
Those arrested include Sheikh Ameel Sheikh Razzaq (30), Sheikh Javed Sheikh Hussain (42), Sheikh Jabbar Sheikh Chand (24), Sheikh Shadul Sheikh Afzal (39), Majid Khan Ziaullah Khan (19), and Firdos Khan Ayub Khan (26), many of whom are daily wage laborers.
Tensions had been mounting since the start of the Ganesh festival, when Hindu devotees displayed posters of the Babri Masjid demolition during the procession, accompanied by loud music blaring from speakers.
A complaint regarding this provocation was filed by Khaled Syed Gelani, a member of the local peace committee, but no preventive action was taken by the authorities.
On the day of the violence, members of the Hindu Swaraj Ganesh Mandal, led by 21-year-old Moksha Madhav Asewad, were accused of instigating the crowd, who then allegedly attacked Muslim homes, pelting them with stones and damaging vehicles.
Despite the earlier intervention of the peace committee to prevent communal flare-ups, the decision to divert the immersion procession through an unauthorized route further inflamed the situation.
Sources have claimed that a local BJP politician visited both the police station and the affected area after the incident, meeting with members of the pro-Hindu group.
Muslim community leaders have called for an impartial inquiry into the incident, demanding that those responsible for the attacks and vandalism be held accountable. As of the time of this report, no arrests have been made of any members of the Hindu group involved in the violence.
