Communal tension: Maha Police book six persons in three districts; one held

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Maharashtra Police has registered cases against six persons in the last two days in three districts, including Kolhapur and Ahmednagar which had seen communal tension recently, over social media posts and arrested one of them, an official said on Tuesday.

The arrested person is identified as a 29-year-old man from Kolhapur who allegedly used Tipu Sultan's image with the caption 'Bharat Ka Raja' on social media, which caused enmity between two communities, he said.

Kolhapur and Ahmednagar districts witnessed communal tension and incidents of violence last week over some social media posts about 18th-century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan and Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

"Police have registered offences against six persons over the last two days in Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, and Nashik districts and arrested one of them from Kolhapur," the official said.

One of the six men booked by police include a 22-year-old from Parner in Ahmednagar district over his social media post, he said. Cases were registered against four persons hailing from Uttar Pradesh for causing enmity between two groups at Malegaon in Nashik district.

The quartet had come for a career guidance programme for college students and started comparing religions in front of them, he said.

Also read: Maha: Man booked for social media appeal to celebrate Aurangzeb's coronation

They were booked under section 295 (A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code IPC, he said, adding that no arrests were made in this case.

Following communal tensions last week, the police imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. In Kolhapur, internet services remained shut for 31 hours.

In Kolhapur alone, the police had registered four offences and arrested 41 persons in connection with these incidents.

In Ahmednagar, cases had been registered against four persons after they were found carrying Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's poster during a procession at Fakirwada in Sangamner.

Two days later, an incident of stone pelting was reported during the rally organised by a Hindu outfit.

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