Stones thrown, lathicharge in Maharashtra over RSS march in front of mosque

Tension gripped in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district during preparations for a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) route march on the occasion of Dussehra after a group opposed the procession passing in front of a mosque.The situation escalated when Muslim women staged a protest outside the mosque, followed by stone-throwing between two groups, prompting police to resort to a mild lathicharge.The RSS was preparing to take out its route march in Kingaon of Jalgaon district. However, a group objected to the proposed route passing in front of a religious site. The protest intensified when women sat on the road outside the mosque, leading to tension in the area.Stone-throwing was reported amid the escalating tensions. Police intervened to control the crowd and restore order, resorting to a mild lathicharge. Superintendent of Police Shreekant Dhivare, Additional Superintendent of Police Sandeep Gavit, Divisional Police Officer Anil Badgujar and other senior officials reached the spot as the situation developed. Speaking about the incident, SP Shreekant Dhivare said the situation had returned to normal and a large police force remained deployed in Kingaon. "First, let me clarify that the situation is peaceful. A large number of police personnel are deployed in Kingaon. An RSS route march was scheduled to take place here today, but one group opposed it. The police tried to reason with the group for two to two-and-a-half hours, but they were not in a position to understand. We made several requests to them," Dhivare said.He added that the police had granted permission for the procession in accordance with the law and that no group could prevent it from proceeding through an authorised route."The police had granted permission for the procession in accordance with the Constitution. Therefore, no one has the right to stop it. After that, we resorted to a mild lathicharge, following which the route march concluded peacefully," he said.Dhivare also said the police had arrested some people he described as anti-social elements.- EndsWith inputs from Manish Jog