The state home minister Jayant Patil, on Monday evening, chaired a high level meeting with senior police and civic officials to review the volatile situation in Vasai-Virar belt, which was triggered by the alleged assault on local MLA, Hitendra Thakur, by some members of the minority community on Sunday night. In the meeting, it was decided that additional armed forces will be sent in the belt to bring back peace and normalcy.
Senior police officials said that two battalions of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) were rushed from Mumbai to join hands with the Thane Rural police to maintain law and order in the troubled areas of the district.
Earlier in the evening, the local police conducted massive nakabandis and road blocks to stop miscreants from carrying arms and other assault items to the troubled areas.
The police also registered cases of assault and arson against several known and unknown persons and detained 22 of them by late evening. Despite the police crackdown, several localities in Virar West reported cases of rioting and arson, which the locals alleged were instigated by the local MLA and his henchmen. Police sources further revealed that at least 12-15 houses belonging to the warring minority and majority communities were damaged in the aftermath of last night’s Hitendra Thakur incident. Stones were pelted at several shops and mall by the rival supporters, the police reported.
The local residents also reported an incident of firing in the air but the police did not confirm the same.
The rampaging crowds did not spare the media persons who rushed to the spot. Some of them were forcibly sent back while some others were cornered and threatened by the mob. Angry protestors tried to manhandle the journalists and demanded that they print only their version.
