Twenty-four hours after violent Muslim mob violence tore apart the heart of Nagpur in Maharashtra on the evening of 17th March, at least 30% of the city continues to be under curfew with a state reserve police force, riot control squad and 1,000 personnel monitoring the “communally sensitive” locations. Even though Hansapuri and Mahal were blocked off owing to the tense atmosphere, an additional 8,000 cops were placed on standby to prevent further unrest. 70 people and 34 cops including 4 DCPs (Deputy Commissioner of Police) were also wounded during the incident.
The violence erupted because of social media-fueled rumours that a copy of the Quran was set on fire during a demonstration by Hindu organizations asking for the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. It began in Mahal and Chitnis Park before expanding to various parts of the area. The streets of Nagpur were quickly engulfed in turmoil as thousands of Muslims gathered to demonstrate and yelled Islamic slogans like “Allahu Akbar” and “Labaik-Ya-Rasool-Allah.” They vandalized public property, hurled stones and torched vehicles.
Witnesses reported that the enraged Muslims, armed with petrol bombs also stone-pelted children, indiscriminately attacking all nearby people and property. They further unveiled that the rioters wielded swords, weapons and bottles but concealed their faces. “They came in large numbers. They had big stones and petrol bombs in their hands. They pelted stones, vandalised property and torched vehicles,” disclosed a witness.
Two police cars were set on fire near Geetanjali Chowk in addition to two cranes employed for the ongoing road construction using petrol bombs, reported “The Times of India” as well. The Muslims shouted anti-Hindu slogans and threw communal insults at Hindu police officers. Petrol bombs were also used to injure officers.
Notably, alongside the commonality observed in incidents where trivial matters, or even their absence, are exploited by Islamists eager to demonstrate their street power, the use of petrol bombs has become their preferred method to inflict extensive damage. Alongside stones, swords and other weapons, petrol bombs inexplicably materialize in the possession of the rioting Muslims in order to attack others.
Petrol bombs: How Muslims are always equipped to spread mayhem
The use of petrol bombs by Muslim crowds during similar incidents is a troubling aspect of what is typically characterized as “spontaneous” protests by them. The recent occurrence in Nagpur is also being framed as an immediate reaction to the alleged burning of Quranic verses or copies of the Quran, an unfounded rumour. However, it raises the question of how they acquire weapons and petrol bombs if the violence is purely reactionary and not the result of premeditated planning as they lie in wait for such an opportunity to unleash havoc.
The supporters of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) created chaos on the pretexts of “hartal” and “bandh” after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested several of its members in 2022. They damaged Bharatiya Janata Party’s office in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu while two members of the terrorist outfit reportedly threw petrol bombs at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office in Kannur’s Mattanur.
Muslims reportedly planned unrest on Diwali night in Vadodara’s Pani Gate neighbourhood that same year. According to Vishva Hindu Parishad Vadodara Mantri Vishnu Prajapati, local Muslim thugs used petrol bombs to disrupt the Diwali festivities. He added that before the attack, the street lights were turned out and Hindus celebrating Diwali were targeted with stones and petrol bombs.
The Mewat region of Haryana experienced increased hostilities after a major event in 2023 in which stones were thrown at the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Religious Yatra in Nuh. The members of the minority community attacked one of the religious procession’s vehicles which soon escalated in a large-scale violence against the Hindu devotees. A police officer revealed that the discovery of thousands of empty soft drink bottles stored in crates and homemade petrol bombs alongside stones, iron rods and wooden sticks on the roofs of homes near the most violent areas suggested that the violence was not impulsive but rather carefully coordinated as part of a “larger conspiracy.”
The unrest in Haldwani of Uttarakhand, which erupted on 8th February of last year after a court-ordered demolition of an unauthorized madrasa located in the predominantly Muslim Banbhoolpura area, also involved the deployment of petrol bombs. Police officers, employees of the Haldwani Municipal Corporation and members of the media were all targeted by petrol bombs. The rioters reportedly took gasoline from motorcycles that were parked on the streets and used it to make these bombs.
On 11th September 2024, stones were thrown at a Ganesh idol close to a dargah in Nagamangala town on Mysuru Road, inciting violence in Karnataka’s Mandya district. Shops were set on fire and curfew was imposed there. Mandya Superintendent of Police (SP) Mallikarjun Baladandi had conveyed, “Investigations will reveal whether petrol bombs and swords were used. For now, Section 144 remains in effect.” Petrol bombs and swords were believed to be utilized duting the unrest.
“I strongly condemn the incident that occurred during the Ganesh immersion procession in Nagamangala, Mandya district. Miscreants from a particular community deliberately instigated violence by targeting devotees who were peacefully participating in the Ganapati procession. They threw stones, sandals and petrol bombs at the public and police and brandished swords, demonstrating a blatant failure of law and order in the town,” Union Minister HD Kumarswami also expressed at the time.
Petrol bombs used during anti-Hindu Delhi riots
The members of the Muslim community have employed petrol bombs in incidents ranging from minor to major. It was, predictably, employed by Muslim radicals and their minions to maximize destruction in the name of anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests.
During a pro-CAA rally organized by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the Lohardaga district of Jharkhand in 2020, stones were flung from within the mosque. Cops also sustained injured in the attack. The VHP asserted that petrol bombs and stones were thrown during the demonstration, aiming at both Hindu residences and women.
The Delhi police told the Delhi High Court in 2020 that the violence at the Jamia Millia Islamia campus on 13th and 15th December during anti-CAA agitation was a meticulously planned attack rather than an isolated incident because all of the rioters were well-armed with petrol bombs, stones and lathis. “The said incident was not a sporadic but a well-planned incident, as the rioters were fully armed with stones, lathis, petrol bombs, tube lights, etc., that clearly manifest that the intention of the mob was to disrupt law and order situation in the area,” the crime branch had pointed out.
During the Delhi riots, Hindus were subjected to petrol bombs and gunfire as their homes were set on fire. According to the charge sheet in the murder case of IB employee Ankit Sharma, former Aam Aadmi Party councillor (AAP) and current AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) member Tahir Hussain was on the roof-top throwing stones and petrol bombs at Chand Bagh’s Hindu residents in addition to organizing the disturbances and inciting the Muslim crowds.
According to Pradeep Kumar Verma, a Hindu whose garage was destroyed by Tahir Hussain and other Islamists including Shah Alam, Gulfam and Riyasat Ali initially broke through the gate of his parking lot, burned and damaged cars, and stole between ₹20,000 and ₹25,000. During this time, Tahir Hussain and others, including Liyakat Ali, were hurling petrol bombs and stones onto the parking lot and encouraging others to follow suit.
The sequence of events was further reinforced by Surendra Singh, another witness who was at Pradeep’s parking spot and gave his statement to the police. He also noted that Tahir Hussain was hurling petrol bombs and stones at the parking area.
Startling details regarding the Nagpur riots
The ruthless mob did not even hesitate to target women officials. Concerning information that surfaced included the assault on two women cops, one of whom was pinned down by stone-pelters in a small alley in Bhaldarpura and her uniform was ripped. She was groped but managed to escape her assaulters. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Anita More, another officer, was attacked with stones and confined in a bylane.
A 15-year-old juvenile reportedly utilized an axe to attack Zonal DCP Niketan Kadam, at Hansapuri. The assailant was aiming for his neck, but he was able to intercept the blow with his hand. However, he endured serious injuries and underwent emergency surgery at New Era Hospital. During the riots, over 50 vehicles including two JCBs, were set on fire and vandalized. According to sources, Vikas Kumar Jha, the assistant commandant of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was subjected to severe stone-throwing while traveling through Bhagwagar Chowk. His official Scorpio vehicle sustained significant damage. While attempting to separate two groups of stone-pelters, two homeguards were almost lynched at the spot.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remarked, “In Nagpur, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal held protests. Rumours were spread that things containing religious content were burnt. It looks like a well-planned attack. No one has permission to take law and order into their hands.” Eknath Shinde, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, also called the occurrence a “planned conspiracy.”
Aftermath of the Nagpur violence
On 18th March, police filed six formal complaints against a minimum of 1,200 offenders. More than fifty people have been taken into custody and ten police teams have been formed to find other perpetrators. “A special cyber police team has been deployed to monitor and take action against those spreading rumours on social media,” Commissioner of Police (CP) Dr Ravinder Singal. He added that security has been increased around the city and all roads leading to Mahal have been barricaded.
School bus drivers kept off the road, while at least 100 colleges and schools in curfew-affected districts remained closed. Over 650 rioters were charged in a single FIR (First Information report) at the Ganeshpeth police station booked under 57 sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). According to a police source, investigators have also charged 51 members of the Minority Democratic Party (MDP) in the offense. Faheem Khan, the city head of the Minority Democratic Party (MDP), was taken into custody by Nagpur Police on 19th March in relation to the violence in Nagpur. He has been linked with organizing the unrest.
Police execute patrols and surveillance operations since the situation remains unstable. Armed cops patrol the streets and designated security stations have been erected at strategic spots to avoid further escalation. The authorities have advised people to stay inside and refrain from disseminating unconfirmed information online. The Maharashtra Police Cyber Cell is looking into more than 100 social media accounts for spreading false information that sparked the unrest.
Additionally, an offense was filed at the Tehsil police station against unidentified rioters for setting ablaze and destroying approximately 12 automobiles valued at over ₹5 lakhs in Hansapuri during the disturbance. Almost fifty more vehicles, hand carts, e-rickshaws and other stores, clinics and homes were damaged in the same area by rioters who entered from Ganjikhet Chowk and Kasabpura.
Conclusion
It is clear that the incidents discussed earlier are merely a glimpse into a much broader issue. The inclination of the members of the Muslim community to become incensed at the slightest trigger, whether it involves a Hindu religious processions, anti government rallies, films that depict factual narratives or false claims of blasphemy, has been apparent for many years. However, their attack on the unwary non-Muslims has only grown worse in the past few years, using a variety of weapons and tactics, particularly petrol bombs.
Their ecosystem might try to defend their actions with absurd claims, it prompts the question of how their roofs are consistently equipped with stones, their residences contain swords and they are able to readily assemble petrol bombs if they are only responding to perceived provocations. How do they manage to remain perpetually poised to unleash disorder at any given moment, and how long will the authorities continue to endure these violent incidents?
More importantly, what lies ahead for non-Muslims, specially law-abiding Hindus, who are neither prepared nor motivated to take similar action. Furthermore, they do not have the ecosystem to validate even their legitimate responses, as evidenced in numerous instances, including the Nagpur violence where blame is directed at “Chhaava,” BJP and Hindu groups, but never the real culprits.
