Curfew continues in 7 villages in Nashik; 117 arrested

Nashik: Curfew continued to remain in force in seven villages of Igatpuri and Trimbakeshwar tehsils in the wake of group clashes and incidents of stone pelting following alleged rape attempt of a minor girl by a teenager here, even as police have so far arrested 117 people in connection with rioting, stone-pelting, and arson.

While curfew was imposed in eight villages in Igatpuri and Trimbakeshwar tehsils in Nashik on Wednesday night, it was lifted from one village today.

According to police, the situation in Nashik city and parts of the district remained under control and no untoward incident was reported in the last two days.

Protests had erupted in adjoining villages and spread to Nashik after a 16-year-old boy allegedly tried to rape a five-year-old girl at Talegaon village near Trimbakeshwar.

Meanwhile, the condition of the minor victim, who was admitted to Nashik Civil Hospital, is stable and improving.

Addressing a joint press conference, Special Inspector General (Nashik range), Vinaykumar Choube and Commissioner of Police Ravindra Singhal said, "In Nashik rural, 82 persons have been arrested and 23 offenses for rioting, stone pelting and arson have been registered so far."

Besides, in Nashik city, 20 cases were registered in different police stations and 72 persons involved in these incidents since Sunday have been identified, of which 35 have been arrested, they said.

"Curfew was clamped in eight villages in the district on Wednesday night. However, curfew in Vilholi village in Igatpuri tehsil was lifted today, while that in seven other villages will continue till Saturday," they said.

Mobile Internet services continued to remain suspended to prevent the spread of rumours and are likely to be restored tomorrow, after taking a review of the situation, Singhal said.

"Police are keeping a tab on social media to find out the spread of any troublesome messages. So far, seven persons were booked for allegedly circulating wrong messages on social networking sites and one person was also traced for spreading messages on Facebook," the Commissioner said.

Choube said, District Collector B Radhakrishnan and District superintendent of Police (Rural) Ankush Shinde are visiting the sensitive areas in Nashik and appealing people to assist the administration and police for keeping the peace.

"City police also conducted raids on some people's houses and recovered two pistols, five live cartridges, and other arms on Thursday," Singhal added.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Social Justice, Ramdas Athawale will visit the city late night and hold talks with the district and police authorities tomorrow over the situation, an official statement said.