Stone pelting at Ganesh pandal in Surat leads to communal tensions, 6 minors detained, 27 held
Six minors threw stones at a Ganesh pandal leading to massive tension; police resorted to lathi charge and lobbed tear gas shells to control the crowd
New Delhi, September 9
A incident of stone pelting at a Ganesh pandal in Surat triggered communal tensions in Surat of Gujarat.
The police stated that the incident happened in the Sayedpura area of the city where a few minors thre stones.
Thousands of people gathered and began protesting, demanding action after rushing to a nearby police chowky. The police also resorted to a lathi charge and used tear gas to manage the angry crowd.
The police were immediately deployed in the area. Around 1,000 police personnel deployed all around.
Six minors, who allegedly threw stones at the Ganesh pandal were detained by the police. In addition, 27 other people were also arrested by the police who allegedly encouraged the stone pelting.
Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi and local BJP MLA Kanti Balar also visited the spot in wee hours and spoke to the locals to reduce tensions in the area.
Sanghvi later posted on X saying, “As I promised, we have caught the stone-pelters before sunrise! 6:30 am #Surat Update Here are the details: 27 stone-pelters arrested, CCTV, video visuals, drone visuals, and other technical surveillance work is still ongoing. Strict action will be taken against all accused. Our teams have worked whole night & yet to identify the stone-pelters and bring them to justice. Jai Ganesh!!”
