Sporadic incidents of stone pelting by the members of two political groups, followed by tear-gas shells lobbed by police to bring the situation under control, disturbed peace in Bodhan, a town in Telangana’s Nizamabad district, on Sunday afternoon. Police imposed prohibitory restrictions to restore peace.
Trouble erupted around noon when some members of a political party noticed the ‘illegal’ and overnight installation of the Shivaji statue at a junction near the railway tracks and staged a protest. Members of two groups picked up a heated argument and were later involved in the bout of stone-pelting in which a police constable and several others suffered injuries.
Nizamabad Commissioner of Police K R Nagaraju said that they imposed prohibitory orders in the town in a bid to control the situation and to prohibit further escalation of the matter. The Internet services were also suspended in the area. “We have imposed Section 144 and the situation is under control,” he said.
According to Mr. Nagaraju, the scuffle broke between the members of two political parties, after one group installed the statue overnight without any permission. “The other group opposed it and the situation turned violent,” the officer said, adding that a large number of forces from the neighbouring Nirmal and Kamareddy districts were also deployed to control the situation.
“While permission for installation of the statue is still pending with the municipality, they (members of one group) have installed it and were also planning for its inauguration,” an officer said.
As the clash site was close to the railway tracks, the mob picked up ballast aggregate from the tracks and pelted them from the rooftop of nearby buildings.
