Bareilly tense after Haldwani communal violence; UP on alert
Bareilly sees stray incidents of stone pelting and sloganeering as tensions over Haldwani spread .
Bareilly remained heavily fortified on Friday amid stray incidents of stone pelting after violence erupted in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani over the demolition of an “illegally built” madrasa the previous night, said senior officials in the police department.
Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in large numbers after some religious leaders, including the chief of Ittehad-e-Millat Council (Bareilly Sharif) Maulana Tauqir Raza, were detained as a precautionary measure. They were later released.
On Thursday, Raza had given a call for ‘Jail Bharo’ asking his supporters to offer their arrest to the police over the Gyanvapi mosque row. Meanwhile, the demolition of the madrasa in Haldwani added fuel to the fire as hundreds of people attempted to rally behind Raza and gathered after the Friday prayers around 2.30 pm. Markets in different parts of the city remained shut since the morning.
Uttar Pradesh on alert
Uttar Pradesh director general of police (DGP) Prashant Kumar said an alert was issued in the state after the violence in Haldwani. He said all district police chiefs had been asked to remain cautious, and that deployments were in place in the districts bordering Uttarakhand.
“We had planned deployments and restrictions in advance due to which no major incident was reported. Everything is peaceful now. The deployments, however, will continue following the tension triggered on Friday,” Bareilly zone additional DG PC Meena told media persons.
Bareilly senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ghule Sushil Chandra Bhan said stray incidents of stone pelting and sloganeering were reported at the Shyam Ganj market under Baradari police station limits of the city. He added notorious elements thrashed three youngsters near Sailani locality in the same area, and two of them suffered minor injuries. He said the situation had been brought under control even as flag march was taken out in sensitive areas to instill a sense of security among the locals.
He added some anti-social elements were trying to disturb the peace and communal harmony in Bareilly. “We are also keeping watch on social media and people are suggested to refrain from posting anything objectionable on the issue,” he noted.
