Police arrest Nagpur violence mastermind Faheem Khan, get 3-day custody

The police have identified Khan as the alleged mastermind behind the communal violence that left several people, including policemen injured. Faheem Khan was produced in the court which granted police his custody till March 21.

Nagpur: The police on Wednesday arrested Faheem Khan, the city president of the Minority Democratic Party, on the charge of orchestrating the March 17 violence in Maharashtra’s Nagpur.

The police have identified Khan as the alleged mastermind behind the communal violence that left several people, including policemen injured. Faheem Khan was produced in the court which granted police his custody till March 21.

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He was one of the 51 people against whom the police have registered an FIR. He has studied up to Class 10. According to the FIR, 38-year-old Faheem Khan has been accused of instigating the mob.

Incidentally, it was Faheem Khan who went to the police station to give a statement. He was the first to gather 30 to 40 people at 11 a.m. ahead of the protest by Bajrang Dal and VHP demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s grave.

Khan in his statement accused the VHP and Bajrang Dal of creating trouble by organising the protest. Thereafter, he mobilised the mob and instigated them. He was also accused of inciting the protesters by saying that the police belong to the Hindu community and do not help them.

In the FIR lodged in Ganesh Peth, there is a mention of conspiracy to rape, molest and misbehaviour with women. Sources said that the preliminary probe suggested that it was a deliberate attempt to commit violence and attack the police personnel.

The police are conducting a probe into how and from where the mob brought a trolley of stones to the scene. They are also investigating how the mobilisation of a large number of people took place.

Faheem Khan had contested the state Assembly elections but had lost. According to the police, a curfew, which has been imposed in the limits of 11 police stations in Zones 3, 4 and 5 of Nagpur city, is still in place.

Police have ordered people in these areas not to venture out of their homes unless necessary and not to gather in groups of more than five. Life is normal in the rest of Nagpur. Public transport services are running and people are going out for work as usual.