How India's Champions Trophy win celebrations turned into clashes at MP's Mhow
A victory rally celebrating India's win in the ICC Champions Trophy final turned violent in Mhow town of Madhya Pradesh late Sunday evening, resulting in clashes, stone pelting, and arson. The authorities have arrested 13 people in relation to the violence, which injured four people, officials said on Monday.
Police say that the disturbance started outside a mosque when a fight broke out between two groups participating in the procession. As per early reports, tensions were caused by an argument between the two parties over the bursting of crackers, which soon turned into physical fights and stone throwing. The violence soon spread, with three cars and some two-wheelers being targeted and set on fire in various parts of town, including Taal Mohalla, Sewa Marg, Patti Bazar, Manek Chowk, and Jama Masjid.
Indore Collector Ashish Singh said the situation is now under control, with security personnel deployed in Mhow to ensure peace. "13 individuals have been arrested for violence and arson so far. We are also contemplating action under the National Security Act (NSA) against some of them," he added.
Security personnel are investigating CCTV footage and videos from mobile phones to pick out more suspects in the violence. Top police officials arrived in the town late on Sunday evening to take stock of the situation, and a big team of security personnel continues to be deployed in the town to avoid any further escalation.
Eyewitnesses described that the violence erupted when a group of young India cricket fans, rejoicing over India's victory over New Zealand, went towards the Jama Masjid grounds. As per local accounts, they were suddenly stoned by another group and panicked, leaving their motorcycles behind and running away. In revenge, some people torched the deserted motorcycles, making things even worse.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Nimish Agarwal also confirmed that a heated fight between two groups during the rally resulted in the violent clashes. "We are filing multiple FIRs on the basis of statements of the affected people and videos of the incident," he said.
The authorities have appealed to the residents not to perpetuate rumors or inflammatory posts on social media, vowing to take stern action against any one found inciting unrest on the internet. The police are still investigating the five alleged incidents in the town to bring the perpetrators to book and restore peace in the area.