Amid the clamour for the removal of Aurangzeb’s grave, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) team has reached Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to inspect Khultabad where the tomb is situated and was keeping a close vigil on suspicious movements. This comes after Nagpur was rocked by Islamist violence on March 17 night over the issue.
The NIA team also visited the adjoining Parbhani, Jalna and Nanded districts in Marathwada, and Buldhana in Vidarbha to monitor suspicious movements there. The team has reportedly sought the assistance of the state Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has put up tin sheets on two sides of the 18th-century structure. It was done three days ago by the district administration after District Collector Dilip Swami and Superintendent of Police Vinaykumar Rathod visited the grave.
Ironically, Aurangzeb’s grave is protected by ASI as a “Monument of National Importance”. The Nagpur police have registered a sedition case against Fahim Khan, the mastermind of the March 17 violence, and five others.
The Nagpur Cyber Crime Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Lohit Matani said, “A case of sedition has been registered against six persons, including Fahim Khan. Some people supported the violence against the police and praised it. The number may increase further. Some comments were made while supporting this attack, which further fuelled the riots. A case of sedition has been registered against the people who made such comments. “
He said that more than 300 social media accounts have been investigated in connection with the riots that broke out in Nagpur. Out of these, 140 accounts have been found to have objectionable posts and videos.
The DCP added that the process of registering a case against all of them is underway. Further, Maharashtra Cyber, a nodal agency for cybersecurity and cybercrime enforcement, has initiated action against social medical accounts spreading inflammatory content. Maharashtra Cyber, in coordination with the Nagpur City Cyber Police Station, has identified multiple social media accounts engaged in disseminating objectionable content concerning the recent riots in Nagpur. “More than 140 instances of objectionable content across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube have been identified and reported.
In response, notices under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 have been issued to facilitate the immediate takedown of such content. Additionally, notices under Section 94 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 have been issued to uncover the real identities of the individuals operating these accounts.
Strict legal action will be taken against those responsible for spreading such provocative content,” said the press release issued late Wednesday night by the office of the Additional Director General of Police, Maharashtra State Cyber Department.
