PUCL Maharashtra Statement Condemning the Communal Violence in Nagpur Following an Organised Hate Campaign and Rallies for Removal of Aurangzeb’s Tomb in Khuldabad
PUCL Maharashtra strongly condemns the communal violence that took place in Nagpur on March 17, 2025, and the consequent developments. The violence was preceded by communal tensions created across the state with hate speeches and calls to violence by political leaders, ministers and extremist groups such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal over the issue of the removal of the Aurangzeb’s Tomb in Khultabad.
The mindless violence claimed the life of 38-year-old Irfan Ansari, reportedly found on the roadside by the police. He succumbed to his grievous injuries in hospital, on March 22, 2025. His family has demanded justice and action against the people that reportedly attacked him.
PUCL Maharashtra also expresses serious concern over the selective police crackdown on Muslims and the spate of arrests that have taken place in the aftermath of violence which broke out in Nagpur city. Fahim Shamim Khan, leader of the Minority Democratic Party, booked for sedition and named by police as mastermind of the riots, is among the over 100 people arrested, mostly Muslims. Local Muslims of the area have accused the police of arbitrary arrests and bias against the community.
On March 24, 2025, the very day the Supreme Court issued contempt notice in the case of punitive demolition in Malvan, the house (owned by mother) of Fahim Khan, was razed by three JCB machines of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. A portion of a property belonging to another accused Yusuf Shaikh was also demolished. The process had to be halted as the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court issued an order staying the demolition and termed the administration’s steps as high handed.
Pertinently it was the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, himself, who had stated “bulldozers will run if the law permits”, whilst responding to a query on whether his government would follow UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s model of justice. The Chief Minister has further stated that: “The cost of total damages caused during the riots will be calculated and will be recovered from the rioters themselves. If they fail to pay for the damages, their property will be sold,”
The Nagpur Municipal Corporation issued a notification on March 21, 2025, after Fahim Khan was taken into custody, claiming 86.48sq m was illegal and that it would proceed with the demolition and legal action if the structure was not removed. This follows a new trend emerging in Maharashtra state of punitive demolitions by the authorities, in violation of the Supreme Court guidelines issued in November 2024 in the matter re demolitions of structures.
Details of the incident and the investigation
On March 17, 2025, widespread violence erupted in various areas of Nagpur following a rally organized by the VHP and Bajrang Dal demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb from its current location in Khultabad in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly known as Aurangabad). Media reports and visuals of the burning of a chadar with sacred inscriptions during the rally, held in the Mahal area of Nagpur in the morning went viral. The incident of burning took place in broad daylight but no action was taken by the police against any of the individuals who burnt the chadar in their presence, either to prevent or arrest them. Fahim Khan along with some others had approached the Ganeshpeth Police Station then, demanding action against Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad for their inflammatory action of desecration of a sacred chadar during the rally near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue at Gandhi Gate in Mahal.
On March 17, 2025 the police subsequently registered one FIR against workers affiliated with the VHP and Bajrang Dal at Kotwali police station for allegedly hurting religious sentiments during the rally. According to the FIR lodged at the Ganeshpeth police station, the organiser of the protest to remove Aurangzeb’s tomb, Rahul Narnaware (joint secretary, Bajrang Dal), had sought legal permission for the same. The protest was scheduled for 11:30 am on Monday. As per the FIR, the police had forbidden VHP and Bajrang Dal activists to burn the effigy of the Mughal emperor, yet the workers violated the order. It is only on March 19, 2025 that eight accused persons surrendered, and were granted bail the same day.
Meanwhile, by the evening of March 17, 2025 at around 7:00 pm, the situation flared up at three locations in Nagpur—Mahal, Bhaldarpura, and Hansapuri—after word spread widely that the chadar was burnt during the demonstrations. In the violence that erupted 33 police personnel, including 3 DCP-rank officers, were injured. FIRs were filed at Ganeshpeth and Kotwali Police Stations, and at least 200 people were named. By March 25, 2025, at least 13 cases had been registered and 114 persons arrested, mostly Muslims. In one FIR No. 0115/2025 filed at Ganeshpeth Police Station, 51 Muslim men have been charged under 57 different offences.
Spread of Hate Speeches and Communal Hatred
A brief glance at the timeline of violence will reveal that the release of Chhaavaa, a Bollywood film about Shivaji’s son Sambhaji, on February 14, 2025, was the catalyst that stoked religious sentiments calling for razing the tomb of Aurangzeb. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, himself admitted on the floor of the house that the film was responsible for igniting public anger. It is the leaders from the ruling Mahayuti government who had openly promoted the film; NCP MLA Sangram Jagtap even conducted free screenings. The VHP and Bajrang Dal held rallies across Marathwada and called for the removal of the tomb through force. In Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu extremist outfit announced a reward of Rs 21 lakh for demolishing the tomb.
Instead of appealing for communal harmony and peace, a week preceding the violence, on March 10, 2025, the Chief Minister, while responding to a statement by his party colleague and Satara MP Udayanraje Bhosale reportedly calling for the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb, said:
“We all also want the same thing, but you need to do it within the framework of the law, because it is a protected site. The site was put under ASI’s [Archaeological Survey of India] protection during the Congress regime some years back.” (Source)
On March 17, 2025, the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji according to the Hindu almanac, amidst threats from Hindu extremist groups to raze the tomb, the Chief Minister went on record saying it was unfortunate his government had to “take responsibility for the protection of Aurangzeb’s grave despite his history of persecution.” (Source) He further said, “If anyone glorifies Aurangzeb, I give my word, before this temple, that I will crush that attempt.”
His cabinet colleague Nitesh Rane, while addressing a gathering at Shivneri Fort in Pune district the same day, further instigated his supporters, saying:
“The government will do its part while Hindutva outfits must do theirs. When Babri Masjid was being demolished, we did not sit and talk to each other. Our karsevaks did what was appropriate.” (Source)
Rane, who has crisscrossed Maharashtra as a leading figure in the rallies organized by Hindu extremist outfits, has 38 FIRs against him, according to the affidavit filed with the Election Commission of India. The offences are mostly under Section 196, Section 351, and Section 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (and its old equivalents under the Indian Penal Code, 1860). However, he has not faced prosecution in a single case, in total disregard for due legal process. Even as he openly threatened recreation of the Babri Masjid demolition—which had a history of sparking communal violence in the state—no action was initiated against him.
On March 16, 2025, speaking at an event in Maharashtra’s Une, Telangana BJP MLA T. Raja Singh repeated similar threats and incitement to violence, linking the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb to the creation of a Hindu Rashtra, saying:
“…The Hindus in Maharashtra want that Aurangzeb’s grave should be erased from the state… Kab tutegi Aurangzeb ki kabr?.. I have only one resolve now—to make India a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ and remove Aurangzeb’s grave.” (Source)
Alt News, in its report released on March 25, 2025, identified several inflammatory speeches made by BJP and other Mahayuti leaders preceding the violence.
PUCL Maharashtra has also received alarming reports of the police conducting combing operations in neighbourhoods where minorities live in large numbers and the arrest of Muslims from their homes on grounds of suspicion, even though they were not present at the site of violence (Video evidence). On the other hand, no action has been taken against the members of the Hindu extremist groups involved in the violence, or against Nitesh Rane, T. Raja Singh, and other political leaders who had consistently made communally charged statements. The whipping up of communal sentiments by granting impunity to hate speech and calls to violence against Muslims does not augur well for the state and signals the breakdown of law and order.
PUCL Maharashtra Demands That:
- PUCL Maharashtra condemns the communal and inciteful statements made by various Hindu extremist forces and seeks an independent and impartial inquiry into the circumstances that led to the communal violence and death of Mr. Irfan Ansari, and the flaring of communal tensions and feelings of enmity between communities.
- The government pay compensation to the family of Mr. Irfan Ansari, who was killed in the mob violence.
- All those responsible for instigating the riots and those participating in the violence must be tried and punished according to the law of the land. Justice must not only be done, but it must also be seen to be done.
- Selective and targeted actions in violation of the rule of law must not be undertaken. All illegal detentions and arbitrary arrests, along with combing operations across the city meant to terrorize minorities, must be stopped. There should be a complete halt on punitive demolitions of the homes of the accused, and no demolitions should be conducted without following due process of law and without conducting a fair and proper trial.
- The government should compensate Jehrunnisa, mother of Fahim Shamim Khan, whose house was demolished illegally.
- The government must investigate why no steps, preventive or punitive, were taken by the police to stop the attempts to communalize the environment, and in particular why the rally was not stopped despite denial of permission to Rahul Narnaware (Joint Secretary, Bajrang Dal), and why the police did not stop them from burning the chadar on March 17, 2025. Prompt action must be taken in respect of the same. Strict action must be taken against all such police officers and those in command and in charge of maintaining public order in Nagpur, who abdicated their duty or were involved in arbitrary and biased actions.
- Immediate action must be initiated against Minister of Ports Development of Maharashtra, Mr. Nitish Rane, Telangana BJP MLA T. Raja Singh, and other political leaders for giving hate speeches and inciting violence.
- PUCL Maharashtra expresses grave concern at the manner in which divisive agendas are sought to be spread by commercial movies like Chhaava, which, by the government’s own admission, has contributed to the violence in Nagpur. PUCL further cautions elected representatives, including heads of state, to refrain from commenting on such movies that are liable to be misconstrued and misused to incite communal violence. Any attempts to stoke communal fires must be dealt with swiftly and severely.
Shiraz Prabhu, President
Sandhya Gokhale, General Secretary
People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Maharashtra