NAGPUR: Police have formed 18 special teams to track down and arrest those involved in the violence in Maharashtra's Nagpur city, officials said on Thursday.
As of now, 69 persons have been arrested in connection with the violence which took place here on Monday.
Curfew remained imposed in several areas of the city for the third day on Thursday.
The police have so far identified 200 accused and are actively working to identify another 1,000 suspects captured in CCTV footage of the riots, a senior official said.
On Monday, five First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered at the Ganeshpeth and Kotwali police stations wherein 200 accused have been named.
Efforts were on to identify the others involved in the violence with the help of the CCTV footage, the official said.
Nagpur Commissioner of Police Dr Ravinder Kumar Singal on Wednesday told reporters that the special teams formed include personnel from the Ganeshpeth, Kotwali and Tehsil police stations, along with the Crime Branch.
The teams are also working closely with the cyber cell to help identify the suspects, another official said.
Among the 69 persons arrested so far in connection with the Nagpur violence is Minority Democratic Party (MDP) leader Fahim Khan.
Officials earlier said Khan allegedly led a protest outside a Nagpur police station on Monday.
Police records show Khan was earlier accused in multiple cases, including electricity theft and a protest in 2023-2024.
A group of 50 to 60 people led by Khan unlawfully gathered outside Ganeshpeth police station on Monday and submitted a memorandum against Vishwa Hindu Parishad's protest that had taken place earlier in the day, the FIR against him stated.
Subsequently, Khan and eight others went to Bhaldarpura area where 500 to 600 people from a minority community had gathered near Shivaji Maharaj Chowk.
He was later arrested, an official said.
Asked if Khan was the mastermind of the violence, Singal on Wednesday said that investigations were underway to identify attackers and the role of the persons named in the FIR.
Thirty-three police personnel, including three DCP-rank officers, were injured on Monday night when mobs went on a rampage, damaging vehicles, hurling petrol bombs and stones at police, and attacking houses.
Rumours about a 'chadar' with holy inscriptions being burnt during protests led by VHP seeking the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb, located in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, was the prima facie trigger for violence.
Some rioters also allegedly misbehaved with a woman constable and tried to disrobe her during the violence, as per an FIR.
