Curfew relaxed for five hours in Gorakhpur

Curfew in four areas of the city is relaxed for five hours as no untoward incident was reported since Saturday night.

Curfew in four areas of the city was relaxed for five hours on Sunday as no untoward incident was reported since Saturday night even as the administration invoked the National Security Act on eight more persons, taking the total to 12, a senior official said.

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The curfew was relaxed in Kotwali, Tiwaripur, Rajghat and Gorakhnath police circles on Sunday morning from 10 am till 3 pm in the evening, Senior Superintendent of Police SK Bhagat said, adding the police and paramilitary forces are on a constant vigil.

As many as 638 people have been arrested in the district, mostly under section 151 (knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse) of IPC.

The ADG (law and order) AC Sharma has denied invoking NSA on local BJP MP Yogi Adityanath, who was booked under several acts including rioting (147) and criminal intimadation (506), has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.

Meanwhile, a petition demanding his release has been referred to the remand magistrate by the CJM and is set for hearing on Monday.

However, the road and rail traffic remained disrupted for the seventh consecutive day. More than 70 passenger trains to and from Gorakhpur have been cancelled.

The passenger train services on Mau-Ballia section has been suspended as a precautionary measure, a railway spokesman said.