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Kanpur clashes: 24 held, 1,000 booked
The accused will be booked under the stringent National Security Act and the Gangster Act, Kanpur police commissioner VS Meena said on Saturday.
Kanpur/Lucknow
At least 24 people have been arrested, including the suspected mastermind, and 12 people have been detained in connection with the violence that erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district on Friday that left 17 people, including five police personnel, injured.
Over 1,000 people have been booked, officials said, adding that the police are probing the role of groups such as the Popular Front of India (PFI).
The accused will be booked under the stringent National Security Act and the Gangster Act, Kanpur police commissioner VS Meena said on Saturday.
“We have identified 36 people who were involved in the violence with help of CCTV footage and other video recordings of the incidents. A total of 24 people have been arrested so far of which 18 were held on Friday,” Meena said.
The police are considering seizing or demolishing properties of the people involved in the violence, additional director general (law and order) Prashant Kumar said.
The arrested accused include Hayat Zafar Hashmi, the chief of Maulana Mohammed Ali Jauhar Fans Association, a local social group. Hayat, the suspected mastermind of the violence, was arrested along with three other people from the Hazratganj area of Lucknow.
“Zafar Hayat Hashi, the alleged mastermind has been arrested from Lucknow. He along with Mohd Javed Khan, Mohd Rahil and Mohd Sufiyan were the key conspirators,” Meena said.
The police have also recovered six mobile phones and several documents. “Police will invoke National Security Act and Gangster Act against them and impound their properties. We will set an example for all to see,” said Meena.
The police have sought the help of forensics experts to recover data from the mobile phones seized from the accused. They are scanning over 200 videos clips of the incident to identify those involved in stone pelting.
According to officials, Hayat and his supporters called for a bandh after Friday prayers in protest over the remarks of Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma allegedly insulting Prophet Mohammad during a TV debate and insulting Islam.
Violence broke out as the protesters forced closure of shops owned by Hindus in the Parade locality of the district. The violence soon spilled to different localities including Beconganj, Anwarganj and Moolgunj, as protesters pelted stones, fired shots and lobbed petrol bombs at the police, officials said.
Police lathi-charged and fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters on Friday.
“The arrested accused will be produced in court and we will seek 14 days of police remand to interrogate them about the conspiracy behind the incident,” Meena said on Saturday.
“We are probing the incident from various angles and looking into the involvement of groups like PFI and others. The PFI gave bandh calls in three states. We are probing whether or not the Kanpur call was connected,” Meena said, adding that the violence was pre-planned.
Promising strict action, Meena said, “We are also looking into the aspect of foreign funding.”
The officer also said the police are looking into lapses on the part of the force in preventing the violence.
“The area is peaceful and we are maintaining a round-the-clock vigil,” additional commissioner of police (law and order) Anand Prakash Tiwari said, adding three FIRs for rioting and violence have been lodged at Beconganj police station.
One of the FIRs mentions “a crowd of thousands of unidentified persons” as accused.
The FIRs have been lodged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 147 (punishment for rioting), 307 (attempt to murder), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 336 (act endangering life), 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 427 (mischief causing damage) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).
(With agency inputs)
