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100-plus Prayagraj properties of riot accused under scanner, say officials
Prayagraj senior superintendent of police Ajay Kumar said no one who is innocent will be harassed or booked by the administration.
The authorities in Prayagraj are looking into the records of over 100 houses to ascertain if there are any violations, senior officials said on Tuesday,
Officials said the exercise involves scrutinising the construction of the houses in the context of the building approvals from the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA), taxes to be deposited with the Prayagraj Nagar Nigam, the status of electricity bills and dues and measurement of the houses to ascertain any encroachment.
The continuing effort by the administration to take punitive action against people accused of the violence on June 10 during protests against suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s comments against Prophet Mohammed.
“We are looking into records of over 100 houses and if any violation of norms is found, action would be taken,” a Prayagraj Nagar Nigam (PNN) official said on condition of anonymity.
Chief tax officer and public relations officer of PNN, PK Mishra said, “We have not yet received any list or instructions from the district administration in this regard.”
PDA joint secretary Ajay Kumar told reporters: “We have a list of 37 accused and are scrutinising the measurements of their houses. Suitable action would be taken if they are found to have been constructed without a valid map duly approved by the PDA”.
On Sunday, authorities demolished a two-storey house of Javed Mohd, 56, in the JK Ashiyana area of Kareli, Prayagraj, insisting that it was “illegally constructed”. Javed, a local businessman who also claims to be an office-bearer of the Welfare Party of India, was arrested on Saturday for the violence. The action against Javed came a day after authorities in Kanpur and Saharanpur districts similarly demolished houses of people accused of violence during protests against comments made by Nupur Sharma, and expelled media head of the Delhi BJP unit, Naveen Jindal.
Sumaiya Fatima, the younger daughter of Javed Mohd, who the police have cited as a key facilitator of the June 10 violence, said that her father had been framed as he was a peace-loving citizen and in fact always had very cordial relations with the police and district administration. “Earlier, police officials visited our house but now they have suddenly changed and taken action against my father who is innocent.”
Prayagraj senior superintendent of police Ajay Kumar said no one who is innocent will be harassed or booked by the administration. “We appeal to everyone to remain calm,” he said
Kumar added that the police have collected video footage of the violence and will trace the people who indulged in violence.
Kumar said only criminals, key conspirators and facilitators of the violence will be arrested. “We have repeatedly been saying that no innocent will be booked. As many as 70 people are named in the FIRs while others are unidentified. Only those actually involved in the violence will be arrested. Cases of those who were incited for violence but have no past criminal records or are minors will be considered separately. However, the conspirators and those who incited others for violence and involved minors in the act will be arrested based on the evidence collected by us,” the SSP said.
