A dispute over the installation of a football club board in front of a park in Siddharthnagar and the construction of a sound-and-light structure led to massive stone-pelting and vehicle vandalism on Friday night, August 22 in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district. In the violent scuffle between two groups, several people were injured and five to six vehicles were extensively damaged. The area turned into a battlefield as stone-pelting continued for nearly an hour.
A signboard of Bharat Tarun Mandal Pranit Rajebaghswar Football Club was installed near Siddharthnagar, at the road leading from CPR Chowk to Sonya Maruti Chowk. Since the club was celebrating its 31st anniversary, a sound-and-light setup had also been erected.
Stone-Pelting Between Two Groups in Kolhapur
A group objected to the installation and complained to the Laxmipuri Police Station. Acting on the complaint, Police Inspector Shriram Kanerkar visited the spot and ordered the removal of the structure. However, members of the opposing group got angry, and at around 8.30 pm, people started gathering and began stone-pelting, breaking bulbs in the area to create darkness. The other group retaliated, and the clash escalated for nearly 50 minutes, damaging vehicles and public property. One vehicle was set on fire, though police managed to douse the flames quickly. Several two-wheelers were also damaged.
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As the situation worsened, senior police officials, including SP Yogesh Kumar Gupta, SP Dheeraj Kumar Bachchu, DySP Priya Patil, DySP Tanaji Sawant, LCB PI Ravindra Kalamkar, and multiple police inspectors, rushed to the scene with striking force. Heavy security was deployed, and the situation was eventually brought under control.
Shiv Sena UBT leader Ambadas Danve said that the similar incident which had took place in Pune's Yavat district has repeated in Kolhapur. "I understand that the government is also trying to do this in villages during Ganeshotsav, causing communal fights to erupt in every village," he further told the media.