The organisers allegedly also held a 'victory rally' near the arch, depicting all the followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji in saffron and Afzal Khan supporters in green.

Sensing trouble, local police summoned about two dozen important Muslim community leaders and requested them to ignore the developments.

'But, as it always happens, some miscreants exploited the situation to give it a communal twist especially in view of the recently-concluded Ganesh Utsav festival, the ongoing Ramzan month and the ensuing assembly elections,' Shendgle said.

He said he rushed to Miraj that day and was addressing crowds of both communities from the bonnet of his official jeep when an unidentified youth also climbed atop the vehicle and tried to shout him down.

Suddenly, there was a hail of stones from different directions, prompting police to start caning the protesters. Some of the stones are also said to have landed at the Ganesh idol, leading to heightened tensions.

This was followed by violent clashes between members of the two communities that afternoon in which the poster depicting Chhatrapati Shivaji and Afzal Khan was ripped off by some unknown persons.

About 300 people from both communities have been arrested.