Trouble started on Sunday morning when the body of Bhatne Sangaraj Mathero (72) was found lying face down with a rope around his neck. The body was found in his room behind a Buddhist temple in Gautam Nagar opposite the Deonar abattoir. The protesters in the vicinity of the north-eastern suburb claimed that it was a murder and not a suicide, alleging that there were signs of struggle in the house and injury marks on the victim’s body. A local builder was responsible, they alleged.

The police said people came out on the streets soon after news spread. Chaos erupted in the afternoon when shops were ordered to be shut down and a mob started burning objects on the road. According to the police, there were no causalties during the protest, which lasted about three hours.

However, a large number of police personnel continued to be deployed to control the situation which calmed down around 5 pm. Huge crowds could be seen assembled in the area and along nearby Lokhande Marg. There was tension in Govandi too.

A large group of bhikshus (monks) also gathered opposite the abattoir where the General Secretary of the Mumbai Pradesh Bhikshu Sangh I V Ratna spoke to the gathering, demanding justice.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) K L Prasad visited the spot in the evening and appealed to the people to remain calm. Prasad told the crowd that they were waiting for the post mortem report to ascertain the cause of death.

Speaking to Newsline, Prasad said they were hopeful of getting the post mortem report on Monday morning. “People are demanding the arrest of the accused. But this is a step by step process and only after the post mortem report can we take it further,” Prasad said.

Although the crowd had calmed down earlier, the tension was palpable. A minor spark following Prasad’s departure led the crowd to get agitated once again. The police had to resort to a mild lathi charge to disperse them.

The Bhikshu Sangh alleged that this was a case of murder perpetrated by a builder and a few others who wanted the land around the temple for construction. Ratna stated that they had been looking after the plot of land around the temple for the past 40 years and the deceased was in-charge of the 10,000 sq feet of land.

Speaking to Newsline, Ratna stated that the monks would launch a hunger strike until the police take action against people whose names the Sangh has furnished. “We have lodged an FIR in the matter,” Ratna said.