Seven individuals were injured and vehicles and stores sustained damage during an altercation over the removal of a digital poster depicting revolutionary figure Umaji Naik broke out in the Maharashtra district of Sangli on Saturday evening, police said.
The altercation broke out when two groups tussled over uprooting the poster that had been placed in the main chowk in the wake of a birthday anniversary. Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi said that the personnel from additional police force were deployed and “some senior officer” was keeping a watchful eye.
Both the injured persons are said to be critical condition and are being treated at government hospital, Miraj.
Police say the tussle had started Friday evening and cleared up when local leaders stepped in. But on the next day, the conflict started again and soon turned into confrontation and bloodshed.
In the scuffle, stones were thrown, as was the use of swords, sickles and wooden sticks. The target of the police was also associated with Umaji Naik’s statue installation or beautification work, police said.
One person was targeted over the matter, and close friends intervened before the fight to escalate to a bigger one, officials said. After the violence, people and business owners closed their stores throughout the village.
Umaji Naik was a revolutionary, an Indian freedom fighter against the British rule (approximately from 1826 to 1832).
Extra security is in place and measures have been taken to stop more fighting. Sangli Police are looking into all of these and investigating property damage and injuries. A meeting between representatives from the local community and both groups for the purpose of restoring the normalcy and preventing any further escalation is also anticipated to take place, thereby addressing the issue of normalcy.