Maharashtra to fine vandals for damage caused during Pune bandh

Maharashtra government will fine the people responsible for the damage caused to public property during bandh observed in Pune over the removal of a statue on Tuesday.

The government has estimated damage to public property at about Rs5 lakh and the vandals would be made to pay for it.

"The total damage was of Rs5 lakh and we are going to fine the people responsible for the damage," state home minister RR Patil said today.

The protesters damaged around 30 city buses while the Sena activists disrupted rail traffic at Lonavala on Mumbai-Pune section of Central railway for half-an-hour.

Meanwhile, downplaying the controversy over removal of the statue of Dadoji Kondev, Patil said it was a decision of Pune Municipal Corporation and the state government had no role in it.

The Sena-BJP alliance has blamed the NCP for the removal of the statue and for backing 'Sambhaji Brigade', the Maratha dominated organisation which had spearheaded campaign to remove the statue.

"There is no political link between NCP and Sambhaji Brigade. The opposition to the Kondadev statue was started only after James Laine (the author of a book, Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India) wrote some controversial matter. The people who provided wrong information to Laine are responsible," Patil said.

The Congress-NCP coalition which rules the Pune civic body had passed a resolution for the removal of the statue of Konddev who was "guru" of Shivaji Maharaj. The statue was removed on Sunday night. Protesting against the removal of statue, the BJP, Shiv Sena and MNS had given a call for the bandh.