Dhule/Mumbai:
Two groups clashed during a `Bharat Bandh’ against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in north Maharashtra’s Dhule district on Wednesday, while sporadic violence was also reported in Yavatmal, Aurangabad and some other places.
The police fired four rounds in the air and lobbed six tear gas shells to disperse a violent mob in Dhule, an official said.
The incident took place on Hundred Feet Road in the limits of the Chalisgaon Road police station on Wednesday afternoon during a rally against the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
A large number of Muslims participated in the rally, the police officer said.
A group from the Hindu community also gathered at the spot and started shouting slogans in support of the CAA and NRC, which was followed by a clash and stone-pelting from both sides, the officer added.
To disperse the mob, police fired four rounds in the air and lobbed six teargas shells, he said.
The situation was under control and police personnel have been deployed in large numbers in the area, he added.
Besides Dhule, there were incidents of `Rail Roko’ (blockade on railway tracks) at Balapur in Akola district and stone-pelting in Washim and Yawatmal districts of the state, the police said.
At Yavatmal, police used baton-charge to disperse the mob after two groups clashed.
In Aurangabad district, a civic-run bus was pelted with stones at Harsul while a state transport bus was attacked near Himayat Baig.
In Palghar near Mumbai, ten persons were detained for trying to enforce the shut-down. Protesters also tried to block the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway near Vasai.
In Thane district, impact of the shut-down call was felt mainly in Bhiwandi, Mumbra and Ulhasnagar.
At Ulhasnagar, the police detained some persons for trying to take out a protest march in defiance of prohibitory orders.
The suburban train traffic in Thane district was not affected, the police said.
Multiple organisations, including Bahujan Kranti Morcha, had called for Bharat Bandh in protest against the recently passed CAA and the proposed NRC.
