Mumbai: The police’s investigation into the incidents of violence and vandalism in the Vikhroli-Chembur-Govandi belt revealed that the rumours about the reason behind the death of a man on Tuesday — who had attended the bicentennial anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in Pune on Monday — fuelled unrest in Vikhroli (west) during Wednesday’s bandh.
The man, identified as Chintamani More (65), had died due to a heart attack but it was widely suspected in his neighbourhood that his demise was linked to the Monday’s violence in Pune. The police eventually cited the post-mortem report findings, which confirmed he died of natural causes, to pacify his agitated neighbours.
More and his family had left the city to attend the bicentenary celebrations of Bhima-Koregaon war in Pune on January 1. Sources in the police said that More however suffered a heart attack when the family reached Pune rural. The family rushed him to a nearby hospital there, where he was declared dead.
The body was then brought to Mumbai for conducting final rites. It is alleged that rumours were spread that More had died due to mob violence at Bhima-Koregaon. Locals only had half-baked information that the family had left for Pune on January 1 morning.
A postmortem was conducted on More on January 2, and the police was with the family and supervised the last rites. However, because of the rumours, the mobs divided into separate groups and went on a rampage.
The violence was witnessed between an area near Vikhroli (west) railway station and Gulati petrol pump owing to the resentment due to the rumours.
“The mob also indulged into arson and tried to set few vehicles on fire. However, fire tenders deployed in the bandobast team doused the fire in time,” said a senior police officer.
