Clashes Erupt In Maharashtra's Ahilyanagar Over “I Love Muhammad” Rangoli; 30 Detained

Tension erupted in Ahilyanagar’s Milliwada area on Sunday night (28 Septemer) after someone created a roadside rangoli with the words “I love Muhammad.”

A video of the graffiti went viral by morning, prompting Muslim youths to protest by blocking the busy Ahilyanagar–Sambhaji highway, reported India Today.

Locals filed a complaint at the nearby police station, leading officers to register an FIR and arrest one person for making the rangoli. Dissatisfied, protesters gathered in Kotla under the Tofkhana police station area.

Around 7 am, the protest escalated into stone pelting when police tried to control the crowd. Police then resorted to a mild lathicharge to disperse the demonstrators. Authorities confirmed the situation was under control, detained 30 people, and registered a fresh FIR linked to the violence.

“We will have to see if there is a conspiracy behind this. We also need to see who is trying to spoil the social environment. Is anyone trying to polarise us in the same way that was attempted during the Lok Sabha elections? Everyone has the right to practice their religion, but it is wrong to create tension among people in this way,” said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis regarding the incident.

The incident adds to unrest linked to the wider “I love Muhammad” controversy that began in Kanpur earlier this month during the Barawafat procession and spread to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Telangana, and Maharashtra.

Clashes occurred in Bareilly and Nagpur, while large demonstrations took place in Unnao, Lucknow, and Hyderabad.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi defended the slogan, criticising police action and insisting that saying “I Love Muhammad” was not a crime, intensifying the national political debate.

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