UP: 255 arrested after Friday violence, Yogi says no place in civilised society

‘Take care that no innocent is harassed, but ensure not a single guilty escapes,’ Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath told officials at a review meeting

255 people were arrested from seven districts of Uttar Pradesh during simultaneous raids conducted to identify and nab people involved in stone-pelting and arson during the protests after Friday prayers on June 10, police said on Saturday.

A day after the Friday violence, heavy police deployment continued in several districts of Uttar Pradesh including Lucknow on Saturday. (ANI Photo)

“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 on Saturday morning, according to a statement issued by the state government.

On Friday, nationwide protests were held by Muslims against the controversial comments on Prophet Mohammed made by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal, during which pockets of Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal reported stone-pelting and arson. The Centre has maintained that the remarks by individuals denigrating the religious personality “do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the government of India”.

The UP police officials said 13 first information reports (FIRs) were registered in nine districts. They said nearly 200 people were named while about 5,500 unidentified people were mentioned in the FIRs. Heavy police deployment continued in several districts including Lucknow on Saturday.

Additional director general (ADG), law and order, Prashant Kumar said 68 people were arrested from Prayagraj, 64 from Saharanpur and 50 from Hathras for their alleged involvement in the violence. 28 people were arrested in Ambedkarnagar, 27 in Moradabad, 13 in Firozabad, three in Aligarh and two in Jalaun, he added.

The ADG said that the FIRs were registered under stringent sections in connection with Friday’s violence and action will be taken against the guilty under Gangsters Act and their property will be seized.

“Following the legal procedure, compensation for the damage caused to public property will be procured from culprits,” he said.

Another police official said three FIRs each were registered in Prayagraj and Saharanpur, while one each was registered in Firozabad, Aligarh, Hathras, Moradabad, Ambedkarnagar, Jalaun and Lakhimpur Kheri. He said the arrests were made in seven districts. No arrests have been made in Lakhimpur Kheri and Jalaun so far.

The FIRs said that police personnel were injured in stone-pelting by troublemakers.

The official quoted above said the largest numbers of 85 people were named and 5,200 unidentified were mentioned in three FIRs registered in Pryagaraj.

He added four minors aged between 15 and 17 years were taken into custody along with 64 other people arrested in Prayagraj.

He said those taken into custody in Prayagraj, which was the most affected by the violence in Atala area after Friday prayers, included those as young as 15 years and as old as 59 years of age.

He also said the state government had issued direction for the toughest action against all those anti-social elements who participated in attempts to vitiate atmosphere in various cities of the state (on Friday).

In a veiled warning to those creating problems, Mrityunjay Kumar, the media advisor to UP chief minister, in a tweet in Hindi on Saturday, said, “Updravi yaad rakhe, Har Shukravar ke baad ek Shanivaar bhi aata hai (Remember, every Friday is followed by a Saturday)” with a picture of bulldozer demolishing a building.

In Prayagraj, those arrested included Kala Danda Qabristan committee chairman Javed Mohd aka Javed Pump, SSP Ajay Kumar said. The old city areas of Atala were transformed into a fortress with heavy security on Saturday while Rapid Action Force and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel, remained deployed in the locality and nearby areas of Roshanbagh, Khuldabad, Akbarpur and Kareli.

Police officials carried out a flag march in densely populated localities and lanes on Saturday morning, appealing to people to maintain peace.

Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) teams also started identification of illegal constructions and encroachments in Atala and nearby areas in an apparent follow-up of warnings issued by police and administrative officials about illegal properties of rioters being targeted following Friday’s violent protest.

A report from Saharanpur said in ongoing action against protestors, a joint team of the Nagar Nigam, Saharanpur police and administration bulldozed illegal residential constructions in the house of two accused, Muzammil and Abdul Waakir, on Saturday.

Muzammil is a resident of Rahat Colony and Abdul Wakir of Khata Kheri locality in Saharanpur.

Police had arrested them along with other protestors on Friday for participating in an illegal procession taken out after prayers in Jama Masjid on Friday.

Earlier, people pelted police personnel with stones in Prayagraj and Saharanpur as people resorted to violence during their protests after Friday prayers. Firozabad, Aligarh Moradabad, Ambedkarnagar and Hathras also witnessed similar scenes during the marches that were carried out on Friday to protest the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad made by former BJP spokespersons earlier.

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya tweeted: “Angered by the crushing defeat in the 2022 U.P. assembly elections, the anti-BJP parties, their leaders and fundamentalists are trying unsuccessfully to vitiate the atmosphere of the country/state. The law will take strict action against the culprits. People should not be misled and maintain peace. If anyone has a complaint, they should submit a memorandum in a democratic way.”

In his tweet on the incidents, former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister and BJP MLA from Allahabad West Sidharth Nath Singh said: “Strictest of action will be taken against stone pelters in Prayagraj and other cities. No one is allowed to take law into their own hands under the Yogi government’s rule.”

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in his tweet tagging a TV news report of the violence in Prayagraj tweeted: “Democracy operates through dialogue. It follows the law and the constitution. Not through violence, riots and hooliganism. Strict action should be taken against those who are spreading violence.”