A minor scuffle between children while playing in a society snowballed into a major clash between two communities late on Monday night in Pune's Kondhwa area. The incident prompted a large gathering and tension near the Kondhwa police station around midnight. Members of the two communities allegedly threw stones at each other and also at police personnel who were trying to quell the situation. Tension prevailed in the area until 2 a.m. on Tuesday.
Police Intervention and Peace Talks
The police held discussions with members of both communities and requested them to maintain peace. A tight vigil was maintained in the area on Tuesday to avoid any untoward incidents. Inspector Navnath Jagtap of Kondhwa police station provided details of the incident.
How the Incident Unfolded
According to Inspector Jagtap, a fight broke out between children of two different communities, some of them teenagers, while they were playing on the premises of a society on Monday evening. A group of children who were beaten by the other group went home and narrated to their parents how they had been beaten up. Following this, parents of one of the boys went to the society's open space and argued with the children from the other community. They then beat up a child of the other community on the society premises.
Jagtap said, “The news of members of a community beating up another community member spread like wildfire within a few minutes. Following this, members of both communities reached the Kondhwa police station area. They occupied the main road in front of the police station, leading towards Khadi Machine Chowk, around midnight intervening Monday and Tuesday.”
Stone Pelting and Police Action
The members of the two communities abused each other. After a few minutes, they started pelting stones at each other on the road connecting Kondhwa with Khadi Machine Chowk. Sensing trouble, the police used mild force and resorted to a lathicharge to disperse the crowd. The city police cleared the road around 2 a.m. and removed the stones from the thoroughfare.
Peace Efforts
The police held discussions with members of both communities twice. The first peace parleys were held in the early hours of Tuesday. The police once again requested them to maintain peace in the area on Tuesday morning. Authorities continue to monitor the situation to ensure no further escalation occurs.
