20 Sent to Judicial Custody, 21 in Police Custody Till March 24
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Nagpur, India: A local court on Friday evening sent 20 people, accused in the Monday violence, to judicial custody till April 1. Meanwhile, 21 other accused will stay in police custody till March 24. The accused were presented before Magistrate Maimuna Sultana, where police had asked for seven days of custody. However, the court granted only two days.
The accused were arrested based on an FIR filed by the Ganeshpeth police. Among those brought to court were Mohammad Rahil Khan, Yasir Sakib Khan, and others. Police wanted more custody time to investigate the conspiracy, seize weapons, and identify more suspects. But the defence argued that many of the accused were arrested randomly without any solid evidence.
The court noted that the charges were serious and involved sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Since the investigation is still in the early stages, the court said that keeping the accused in police custody was necessary to understand their role in the incident.
On Thursday, 17 other accused were also presented before the court and were sent to police custody till March 22. The defence had argued that only four of them were named in the FIR, while others were arrested without proof. However, the court pointed out that since the violence involved a large crowd, it was difficult to identify everyone’s exact role at this stage.
The accused have been charged under several sections of BNS for offences like promoting enmity between religious groups, rioting, conspiracy, assault on women, attempted murder, and causing harm to public servants and civilians.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Megha Burange said that the accused needed to be questioned further to identify the masterminds and key people behind the violence.
Tension rose in the Tehsil area late on Friday night after BJP MLA Pravin Datke entered the Tehsil police station with hundreds of supporters. He accused the police of leaking sensitive information related to the Mahal riots to some civilians, even though a curfew was in place.
Earlier, Datke had demanded strict action against the Tehsil police inspector, accusing him of favouring the accused in the Mahal riot case. The situation was brought under control after Commissioner of Police Dr Ravinder Kumar Singal intervened.
Datke’s accusations have raised concerns and increased pressure for a fair and transparent investigation.
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