The Gujarat Police on Thursday, 30 March, detained 23 people after two separate incidents of alleged stone-pelting during a Ram Navami Shobha Yatra event in Vadodara.
As per Additional Commissioner of Police (Vadodara) Manoj Ninama, a complaint was registered against 300-500 unknown people and the Police is identifying the alleged stone-pelters through CCTV footage.
"There are no reports of any injuries. We have detained 23 people and a complaint has been filed against 300-500 unknown suspects. The accused have been taken for a medical test, after which we will produce all the accused in court and seek remand," Ninama said.
He added that the Police is conducting a survey in the area and "bulldozer action will be taken against the accused."
What happened on Ram Navami? On Thursday, stones were allegedly hurled at Ram Navami processions in Fatehpura and Kumbharwada areas of old city in Vadodara.
The police has maintained that the clashes were 'not communal' in nature.
Several BJP leaders, including Mayor Nilesh Rathod, former mayor and Sayajigunj MLA Keyur Rokadia, and party’s Vadodara city unit president Vijay Shah, visited the area to take stock of the situation.
What next? According to ACP Ninama, the Police is contemplating if a single FIR under charges of rioting and damage to public property in addition to bulldozer action against the accused.
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