No lathicharge on warkaris in Alandi however minor scuffle with police: Maharashtra DY CM Fadnavis

By PTI

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday denied stories of lathi-charge on warkaris by police in Alandi city in Pune district.

He stated a minor scuffle broke out between warkaris- devotees of Lord Vitthal- and the police.

“There was no lathi-charge on the warkari community,” he informed reporters in Nagpur.

Opposition events, nevertheless, claimed police lathi-charged warkaris and demanded a high-level probe and strict motion.

The incident occurred when devotees had been scrambling to achieve entry into Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Samadhi Mandir in Alandi city, 22 km from Pune metropolis, in the course of the ceremonial procession which is a part of the annual Ashadhi Ekadashi pilgrimage to Pandharpur.

“We learned from the last year’s stampede-like situation at the same place (Alandi) and tried giving a few numbers of entry pass to various groups. It was decided to issue 75 passes to each group that participate in the pilgrimage,” stated Fadnavis, who handles the Home portfolio.

He stated some 400-500 youths insisted that they’d take part within the pilgrimage and will not observe the choice on the restricted allotment of the entry move.

“They broke the barricades and the police tried to stop them, during which some police personnel were injured,” Fadnavis stated.

Oppositions condemn Maharashtra police resorting lathicharge to disperse devotees-Varkari. Maharashtra Congress president ⁦Nana Patole says that is century outdated custom of going to Pandharpur & a part of Vari, however Shinde Fadnavis govt first time resorted lathicharge on Varkari pic.twitter.com/kw6NTNecGc

— Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) June 11, 2023

This determination (of allotting a restricted variety of the entry move) was taken after a joint assembly with the principal district choose, the charity commissioner and the heads of varied teams as a part of the preparation for the pilgrimage, he added.

Police had made elaborate preparations and held conferences with temple trustees to forestall any untoward incident, Commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad, Vinay Kumar Choubey, had stated.

While the police had been sending batches of 75 devotees at a time, just a few folks breached the barricades and tried to enter the temple, he stated.

“There was an altercation when police tried to stop them,” Choubey stated however refuted allegations that police lathi-charged warkaris.

Nationalist Congress Party working president Supriya Sule and Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole claimed warkaris had been lathi-charged by the police and condemned the incident.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday denied stories of lathi-charge on warkaris by police in Alandi city in Pune district.

He stated a minor scuffle broke out between warkaris- devotees of Lord Vitthal- and the police.

“There was no lathi-charge on the warkari community,” he informed reporters in Nagpur.googletag.cmd.push(operate() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

Opposition events, nevertheless, claimed police lathi-charged warkaris and demanded a high-level probe and strict motion.

The incident occurred when devotees had been scrambling to achieve entry into Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Samadhi Mandir in Alandi city, 22 km from Pune metropolis, in the course of the ceremonial procession which is a part of the annual Ashadhi Ekadashi pilgrimage to Pandharpur.

“We learned from the last year’s stampede-like situation at the same place (Alandi) and tried giving a few numbers of entry pass to various groups. It was decided to issue 75 passes to each group that participate in the pilgrimage,” stated Fadnavis, who handles the Home portfolio.

He stated some 400-500 youths insisted that they’d take part within the pilgrimage and will not observe the choice on the restricted allotment of the entry move.

“They broke the barricades and the police tried to stop them, during which some police personnel were injured,” Fadnavis stated.

Oppositions condemn Maharashtra police resorting lathicharge to disperse devotees-Varkari. Maharashtra Congress president ⁦Nana Patole says that is century outdated custom of going to Pandharpur & a part of Vari, however Shinde Fadnavis govt first time resorted lathicharge on Varkari pic.twitter.com/kw6NTNecGc
— Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) June 11, 2023
This determination (of allotting a restricted variety of the entry move) was taken after a joint assembly with the principal district choose, the charity commissioner and the heads of varied teams as a part of the preparation for the pilgrimage, he added.

Police had made elaborate preparations and held conferences with temple trustees to forestall any untoward incident, Commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad, Vinay Kumar Choubey, had stated.

While the police had been sending batches of 75 devotees at a time, just a few folks breached the barricades and tried to enter the temple, he stated.

“There was an altercation when police tried to stop them,” Choubey stated however refuted allegations that police lathi-charged warkaris.

Nationalist Congress Party working president Supriya Sule and Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole claimed warkaris had been lathi-charged by the police and condemned the incident.