A year after communal violence in Nagpur’s Mahal area, leaving one dead and 55 injured, including police personnel, chargesheets have been filed in 12 of the 13 FIRs filed regarding the day’s incidents. The FIR that is awaiting chargesheet was filed against VHP and Bajrang Dal office-bearers under Sections that need government sanction, The Indian Express has learned.
The violence on March 17, 2025, followed protests by Hindu right-wing groups demanding the removal of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, during which a cloth allegedly bearing Quranic inscriptions was set afire.
On the morning of March 17, 2025, the VHP and Bajrang Dal staged a protest in Nagpur as part of a statewide agitation demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. During the protest, an effigy of Aurangzeb and a representation of his tomb were set on fire.
Members of the Muslim community alleged that a green cloth bearing verses from the Quran was also burned during the protest.
Later, a group of around 60 people gathered outside the Ganeshpeth Police Station, demanding action against VHP and Bajrang Dal members. An FIR was subsequently registered against office-bearers of the two outfits under Sections relating to violation of prohibitory orders and restrictions imposed to maintain law and order.
Police sources said the FIR initially named nine individuals, including Govind Shende, regional head of the VHP for Maharashtra-Goa, and eight Nagpur-based office-bearers, with another name added later. Those named were produced before a court and granted bail the same day.
Later that evening, violence broke out in reaction to the VHP and Bajrang Dal demonstrations.
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FIR number 0115/2025
This FIR dealt with the violence on the evening of March 17, 2025. It was registered against 51 people on charges of rioting, arson, vandalism and attacks on police personnel. An estimated 500-600 people were part of the rioting crowd. After the investigation was complete, 36 more names were added.
A 1,900-page chargesheet was filed in June against the 87, all members of the Muslim community. While over 13 of them are still absconding, police said all the others are currently out on bail. Eleven of them are juveniles.
The chargesheet described the violence as a “premeditated attack” on police personnel and public property, citing digital, forensic and eyewitness evidence. Forensic teams reportedly found a trolley filled with stones at the site, suggesting the pelting had been planned. Members of the crowd were reportedly armed with swords, daggers, iron rods and petrol bombs.
Investigators also said that while the violence was “premeditated”, a rumour had escalated the situation, while the VHP-Bajrang Dal protest earlier in the day was the trigger.
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The chargesheet listed 179 prosecution witnesses including police personnel and other officials. While witnesses talked about a green-coloured chadar being burned during the VHP-Bajrang Dal protest, the chargesheet was silent on whether this was indeed a kalma ki chadar, as alleged by the Muslim community.
The chargesheet also documented alleged hate slogans raised during the violence, including threats directed at police personnel and members of the Hindu community.
The accused were charged under 57 Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and other laws, including the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, the Arms Act, 1959, and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.
Among those named was prime accused Fahim Shamim Khan. He spent four months in jail before being granted bail. His family home was subsequently demolished by authorities citing illegal construction. In January this year, his wife Alisha was elected corporator to the very municipal body that demolished their house. In February, the Nagpur Bench of the High Court directed the corporation to either reconstruct the house or compensate the family.
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Prosecution lawyers said the chargesheet against the 13 absconding accused was pending, and that once that was filed, the court would proceed to frame the charges and begin the trial.
Adil Sheikh, who appeared as a defence lawyer in the bail proceedings, says the chargesheet was filed in a hurry. “The individuals listed are not the actual accused, and there is no valid evidence against them.”
FIR number 0114/2025
This FIR dealt with the alleged burning of the green cloth with verses from the Quran. Officials said the chargesheet in this was ready in June, but has not been filed yet as government sanction is awaited.
Police have invoked Sections 295A and 153A in the chargesheet, which mandate prior approval before it can be submitted in court. Section 295A deals with deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings; Section 153A pertains to promoting enmity between religious groups.
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DCP Zone III Rahul Madne told The Indian Express that the state government had suggested certain revisions, which were incorporated and the documents submitted again for sanction. “The issue of the alleged burning of the kalma ki chadar was examined during the investigation and the accused booked under relevant Sections,” he said.
Madne declined to provide details on the suggested revisions or changes made to the chargesheet. The Indian Express reached out to Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Manisha Maiskar for a comment on the pending sanction for the chargesheet, but received no response.
Other FIRs
Eleven other FIRs were registered by the Nagpur Police in connection with the riots, including four by the cyber cell. A chargesheet has been filed in all 11, including one involving charges similar to sedition against the alleged main accused, Fahim Khan.
On March 23, Irfan Ansari (38), who was reportedly injured as he got caught between the rioters and police, succumbed to his injuries. One of the 11 FIRs was registered in connection with his death, naming around 40 people, including reportedly one person belonging to the Hindu community.
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Many of the accused in the case are the same as in FIR No. 0115/2025, a lawyer said.
A house left half-standing
A large black sheet covers the front of Mohammad Ebad’s house near Gandhi Gate. Behind it, where a wall once stood, is the portion demolished by civic authorities after the riots. Nearly 24 members of his extended family, including his 96-year-old father and 86-year-old mother, continue to live inside. The house stands neither intact nor demolished — a structure frozen mid-action.
The demolition was later criticised by the Bombay High Court as not carried out in accordance with the law. The court directed the Nagpur Municipal Corporation to compensate the family. Yet a year on, Ebad says relief has still not come. “There has been no assessment of the damage. We submitted an affidavit as asked, but no action has been taken. It has been nearly a year, but there has been no relief,” he said. The NMC said the matter is sub judice.
“We watched helplessly”
Just a lane away, in Shirke Galli, residents say some of the worst violence of that night unfolded. A 40-year-old caretaker, who asked not to be named, watched from a window as a mob entered the lane and set fire to her moped. “It had a sticker of God Ganesha on it. Someone in the mob shouted that it belonged to a Hindu and should be burned,” she said. A single mother and cancer patient who recently lost her father, she said the incident has taken a toll on her both physically and mentally.
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Resident Sunil Peshne said his car was destroyed and his house damaged. “They burned my car. We had given shelter to six police officers during the riots. The mob got angry about that and then targeted our house,” he said. A year on, he is still waiting for CCTV cameras to be installed in the lane. “If such an incident happens again, at least those responsible can be identified,” he said.
