Nine more people were arrested on Sunday night during simultaneous raids to nab those allegedly involved in violence and arson during protests across the state last Friday. As of now, the total arrests in the last two days stand at 325.
Prashant Kumar, additional director general (ADG), law and order, said 92 people were arrested from Prayagraj so far, 80 from Saharanpur, 51 from Hathras, 41 from Ambedkar Nagar and 35 from Moradabad for their alleged involvement in the violence. The senior UP Police official added that 16 people were nabbed in Firozabad, six in Aligarh and four in Jalaun.
The arrests come amid the demolition drive carried out against those allegedly involved in the violence after Friday prayers across the state. In Prayagraj, a team of the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) along with the police razed an ‘illegally constructed’ two-storey house of 56-year-old Javed Mohammad in the JK Ashiyana area of the city.
This came a day after authorities in Kanpur and Saharanpur demolished the homes of people accused of violence during protests against the controversial remarks made by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Delhi BJP's expelled media head Naveen Jindal.
The Uttar Pradesh government has clearly directed the authorities to ensure stern punishments to the guilty. “Such people have no place in civilised society. Take care that no innocent is harassed, but ensure not a single guilty escapes,” chief minister Yogi Adityanath warned at a review meeting with officials.
However, the demolition drive carried out by the Uttar Pradesh government has drawn fierce criticism from the opposition parties. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav slammed the crackdown, saying the demolition drive was carried out without proper investigation.
“In what world is it justice that the people due to whom the situation in the country has worsened, against whom there were strong reactions from around the world, are under full security while the peaceful protesters are being punished without legal investigation with bulldozers. It is not allowed by our culture, neither religion, nor legislation, nor our constitution," Yadav said.