Mumbai, September 07: BJP General Secretary Gopinath Munde was on Monday detained at the Mumbai airport by state police when he was on his way to violence-hit Sangli district to address a meeting there.
Officials said he was detained as his address could aggravate the tense situation in the district.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Brijesh Singh said Munde has been prevented from going to Miraj in wake of the communal clashes there and his boarding pass has been seized.
Munde was to address a meeting in connection with a recent riot at Miraj in the district, BJP sources said.
The trouble had started on Anant Chaturdashi day– September 3– when some pro-Hindutva organisations tried to raise an arch on the Ganesh idol immersion procession route, depicting murder of Mughal warrior Afzulkhan by king Shivaji as recorded in the Maratha history.
This led to a clash between two groups and violence that had repercussions in Sangli city also.
Communal clashes: Curfew continues in Sangli
The situation in curfew-bound Miraj in Sangli district continued to be tense on Monday even as immersion of Ganesh idols, disrupted due to communal violence, recommenced under police protection, a report from Pune said.
However, around 70 per cent of Sarvajanik Ganesh idols had been immersed till this morning after authorities held discussions with various social organisations in order to establish peace.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home Minister Jayant Patil, who visited the town on Sunday, told reporters that 23 people had been arrested in connection with the violence over the last four days.
State Director General of police SS Virk is personally supervising the situation, he said.
The curfew was relaxed for half-an-hour in the morning and will remain in force till afternoon tomorrow, they added.
–PTI