After Ratnagiri mosque gates rammed during religious procession, police say there was no forcible entry

The clash at a mosque in Ratnagiri.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A group of people allegedly rammed the gates of a mosque in Ratnagiri’s Rajapur village during the annual Shimga procession on Wednesday (March 12, 2025), according to viral videos and eyewitness accounts. However, Ratnagiri police on Thursday refuted the accounts of forcible entry, saying that there had only been some aggressive sloganeering during the procession, which is a traditional part of Holi celebrations in the Konkan region. A misleading reel about the incident has been deleted, police added.

An FIR has been registered for sloganeering and unlawful assembly. A local Muslim lawyer has sought a stronger FIR and strict action against the culprits. Terming it an “attack” on the mosque, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) slammed the Maharashtra government over the incident.

The incident took place at around 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the village’s Jawahar Chowk, during the Shimga procession, eyewitnesses told The Hindu. The procession, carrying a long wooden tree trunk known as a Madachi miravnuk, starts from Sakhalkarwadi in Rajapur village and ends two kilometres away at the Dhopeshwar temple. By tradition, the trunk is placed for a few minutes on the steps of the mosque along the way.

Rammed using tree trunk

“Every year they bring the trunk till the doorstep [of the mosque]; we also go to watch the procession. This time too, they came till the steps. I don’t know what made them ram the trunk into the gate. In the first attempt, they broke the gate and came in. We pushed them outside and closed the gate, they again dashed the trunk aggressively into the gate. At least two people got injured in this from the mob,” said an eyewitness, who was standing inside the mosque’s gate. 

A member of the Rajapur gram panchayat confirmed the incident as well, but wished to remain anonymous. “Every five years, a procession is carried, during Holi celebrations, taking a few minutes halt at the steps of the mosque. This is done to honour the goddess, Nina Devi,” he said. “It has always been a peaceful procession, but this time the matter escalated. We were in the crowd, everyone was dancing, singing, and suddenly we saw a few people aggressively ram the trunk into the mosque gates,” he added. 

Videos of the incident have gone viral, in which people can be heard raising slogans.

‘Misleading reel’

The Ratnagiri police refuted reports of a Hindu mob trying to forcibly enter a mosque during the Holi celebration.

“The traditions of the Konkan are different. There was a ritual named ‘Madachi miravnuk’ where the Holi procession is brought to the doorstep of the masjid and the wood is touched to the steps of the masjid. Every year, Muslims participate in this procession. The honour of giving a coconut to welcome this procession is traditionally given to Muslims,” Ratnagiri SP Dhananajay Kulkarni told The Hindu. “Last night, there was some sloganeering and aggression during this procession. We have registered an FIR under Section 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act for unlawful assembly. Police are investigating the case. Someone falsely spread a misleading reel. That reel has been deleted now. The situation is peaceful and there is no law and order problem there,” he added.

‘Masjid attacked’

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi questioned Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about the law and order situation in the State. “Shameful that a Masjid is attacked in the presence of Police,” he posted on X. 

The Muslim community in Rajapur has written a complaint letter to the Superintendent of Police. “During the celebration of Holi / Shimga Mohatsav, a mob attacked the main gate of the Jama Masjid at least three to four times, causing a blow to the Hindu-Muslim unity of Konkan,” said the letter from Owais Pechkar, a local lawyer representing the community. The gate was attacked when the Muslims were offering namaz, he said.

He demanded that the 25 to 35 people who attacked the gate be booked under Sections 191 (rioting), 192 (provocation to cause a riot), 196 (promoting enmity, 298 (defiling a place of worship), 299 (outrage the religious feelings), 300, 301 (trespassing places of worship), and 302 (to wound the religious feelings of person) of the BNS. He also sought their immediate arrest.

He added that if his complaint was not taken seriously, he would file a criminal writ petition in the Bombay High Court.