Uttar Pradesh topped the list of incidents of communal violence in 2016, according to a statement submitted by minister of state for home, Kiren Rijiju in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
While 155 incidents of violence were reported in the poll-bound state in 2015, the number went up to 162 in the following year.
As parties brace for elections in states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur, the politically crucial state topped the list while zero incidents were recorded in Manipur and Uttarakhand recorded only eight incidents.
On the other hand, Punjab which also did not witness any communal incident in 2014 and 2015 saw one incident of communal violence in 2016.
However, in the other two states which will elect a new government in 2017, namely Goa and Uttarakhand, no such increase has been observed.
In overall tally of the country, Uttar Pradesh is followed by Maharashtra in second place recording 97 incidents, followed by Gujarat at 74.
The fourth and fifth position has been taken by Rajasthan recording 72 and Bihar recording 61 such incidents.
{{/usCountry}}The fourth and fifth position has been taken by Rajasthan recording 72 and Bihar recording 61 such incidents.
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