A year after communal violence in Nagpur’s Mahal area, leaving one dead and 55 injured, including police personnel, chargesheets have been filed in 12 of the 13 FIRs filed regarding the day’s incidents. The FIR that is awaiting chargesheet was filed against VHP and Bajrang Dal office-bearers under Sections that need government sanction, The Indian Express has learned.
The violence on March 17, 2025, followed protests by Hindu right-wing groups demanding the removal of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, during which a cloth allegedly bearing Quranic inscriptions was set afire.
What happened that day
On the morning of March 17, 2025, the VHP and Bajrang Dal staged a protest in Nagpur as part of a statewide agitation demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. During the protest, an effigy of Aurangzeb and a representation of his tomb were set on fire.
Members of the Muslim community alleged that a green cloth bearing verses from the Quran was also burned during the protest.
Later, a group of around 60 people gathered outside the Ganeshpeth Police Station, demanding action against VHP and Bajrang Dal members. An FIR was subsequently registered against office-bearers of the two outfits under Sections relating to violation of prohibitory orders and restrictions imposed to maintain law and order.
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