Overview
- The district administration closed entry to the Durga temple for about 30 minutes during Bakri Eid prayers on Thursday, which led to protests by Shiv Sena workers and BJP activists when prayers were under way.
- Police and State Reserve Police Force units sealed roads leading to the fort, erected barricades around Lal Chowki and maintained a heavy presence to prevent the situation from escalating.
- BJP corporator Mahesh Patil was detained after he publicly objected to the temporary restriction and warned of protests if devotees were not allowed inside the temple.
- Shiv Sena factions revived the long‑running 'Ghantanaad' bell-ringing campaign, performed aarti at the temple precincts, and clashed in slogan exchanges and competing religious recitations with Muslim worshippers after prayers ended.
- The incident underscores a decades-old ownership and worship dispute that remains tied up in court, sustains seasonal political mobilisation linked to Anand Dighe’s legacy, and makes similar confrontations likely during future festival cycles.