2 communities clash over Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in Solapur

Kolhapur: A clash broke out between two communities over the installation of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Solapur's Anjangaon village on Wednesday evening.Early on Wednesday morning, the statue was erected near a temple in the village. While the members of one community claimed that they had erected the statue on govt-owned land, the other community said the land belongs to the trust that manages the temple of their deity.In the evening, the police decided to remove the statue. This sparked a protest, which soon escalated to a clash. The official vehicle of the tehsildar was damaged, and several police personnel had a narrow escape in the stone pelting that ensued. The police had to resort to a lathicharge. Though the police managed to bring the situation under control after some time, heavy bandobast has since been deployed at the location. No case has yet been registered at the police station.Solapur rural SP Atul Kulkarni announced that the status of the land on which the statue has been installed will be verified, and then a decision to remove or keep it would be taken.On Thursday morning, the two groups sat on protest a few metres from each other. During the day, Madha's NCP (SP) MLA Abhijeet Patil and SP Kulkarni held several rounds of discussions with each side.Patil said, "We are going to find out a solution that is acceptable to both sides. It will be amicable to ensure the tensions are eased."On Thursday, the revenue authorities delved into the documents to ascertain the ownership of the land. No one, however, brought to the public the findings of the scrutiny.The group that had erected the statue said they are ready to shift the statue only after the administration finds a suitable, centrally-located spot along the state highway passing through the village. The other side said that the statue, if erected nearby, will cause obstruction to their processions and other rituals. They remained firm on shifting the statue to some other place.