Vadodara: Manjusar village in Savli taluka witnessed chaos on Thursday night after stones were pelted at the Ganesha Visarjan procession. Live videos of stone pelting from rooftops have come to light during this incident. The Manjusar police have registered a case against 18 individuals, along with 30 others, and are conducting further investigations into the incident.

Five individuals are in police custody in connection with the stone pelting incident, and a search for the others involved has been initiated. As per the orders of the Superintendent of Police (Rural), additional security measures have been put in place with a heavy police presence to prevent any further incidents.

According to the complaint filed by Girishbhai Chimanlal Panchal regarding this incident, he, along with Mukesh Solanki, Praful Solanki, Sanjaysinh Vaghela and about 100 other villagers, left Verai Mata Chowk in tractors to carry out Ganapati Visarjan. Ahead of them, people from Mahadev Faliya were in tractors to immerse Ganapati. Urvesh Solanki, Mahipat Rathore, Alpesh Chauhan, and other villagers, totaling about 500 men, were with them.

Everyone was walking together with Ganapati. Around six o’clock in the evening, stone pelting began on the Yatra when it reached Garasia Mohalla. As the complainant looked up, he saw Wasim Jayeshbhai Vaghela, Yasin Vaghela, Mohammed Vaghela, and others pelting stones from Chiman Vaghela’s house. Suddenly, stone pelting also started from Lala Raisang hotel owner’s house. The stones were thrown with the intention of causing harm to them. While throwing stones, these individuals were heard saying, ‘Attack them, don’t let them leave alive,’ the complaint said.

After the stone pelting, these people fled the scene, but later, Wasim returned with a knife to attack the people. Arjun Amri, Sandeep Gopal Chauhan, Jitendra Babul Panipuri, and Arvind Bansi Vanjar were injured during these clashes. This stone pelting led to a stampede. The police were immediately informed. As the stonethrowers belonged to another community, the police promptly arrived to prevent any escalation of tension.

Following the stone pelting, a strong police presence was established. In response to the stone pelting, the villagers performed a Ramdhun (a devotional song) near Manjusar Gram Panchayat and demanded strict action against the rioters. The villagers have also decided not to immerse Ganapati until strict action is taken. However, the District Police Chief intervened and explained the situation, attempting to settle matters peacefully. Subsequently, the police maintained control through patrolling and search operations. Presently, the entire village is experiencing peace. In this case, the Manjusar police have registered a complaint against 18 individuals and a group of 30 others, initiating the process to apprehend the accused. DeshGujarat