Munde detained at Lonavala on way to Sangli

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde was detained on Monday night for the second time in a day, at the hill station of Lonavala, when he was proceeding to violence-hit Sangli-Miraj, party leaders said.

Earlier in the day, the former state home minister was not allowed by authorities to board a flight to Sangli in western Maharashtra. He then proceeded to Sangli by road, but was stopped by the police at Lonavala, approximately 65 km from Pune, they said, adding that the BJP leader was currently lodged at a hotel resort.

Earlier, the police cane-charged BJP workers at the Mumbai airport, when they were demonstrating against the denial of permission to the party general secretary to visit Sangli district, via Kolhapur. BJP activists resorted to 'rasta-roko' on the Mumbai-Pune highway following Munde's detention.

The Lonavala police, when contacted, claimed that they had no information about Munde's detention. Munde later spoke to PTI from Lonavala on the telephone and said he had been detained by the police, who had asked him not to proceed to Miraj-Sangli in view of the prohibitory order in force in that region.

Communal clashes had broken out at Miraj town and then at Sangli city last week and they have been under curfew since Saturday night.

Munde was to address a meeting in connection with the violence at Miraj in the district, BJP sources said.

The trouble had started on Anant Chaturdashi day (September 3) when some pro-Hindutva organisations tried to raise an arch on the Ganesh idol immersion procession route, depicting murder of Mughal warrior Afzal Khan by king Shivaji as recorded in the Maratha history.

This led to a clash between two groups and violence that had repercussions in Sangli city also.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home Minister Jayant Patil who visited the trouble spots told media persons that 23 persons had been arrested in connection with the violent incidents over the last four days.

State Director General of Police S S Virk is personally supervising the situation.

The authorities announced relaxation of curfew in Miraj for half an hour on Monday morning. The curfew will remain in force in Miraj till Tuesday afternoon, they added.