Communal tension gripped the Meerut city on Saturday following a clash between two communities over construction of a pyau at a well near a mosque in Meerut gripped the city in fear and apprehension .
A communal clash over construction of a pyau at a well near a mosque in Meerut gripped the city in fear and apprehension on Saturday.In cross firing and knifing during the clash, several persons were injured while a journalist suffered firearm injuries.According to reports, some persons of a community of Teergaran village under Kotwali police station area assembled near a mosque to get a pyau constructed there on Saturday noon.
When the persons of other community got to know this, they also assembled the scene and opposed the work. Claiming their right, the former group said they used to offer puja on Saturday and Tuesday at the well. The verbal spat soon turned into a heat exchanges with more supporters from both the community assembled the scene. In between, local corporator of Bhartiya Janta Party, Vijay Anand reached the scene. The verbal spat then snowballed into stone pelting with both the groups attacked one another barraging invectives on the religion of their rivals. The clash took a violent clash with mob climbed atop roofs of their houses and opening fire.
The angry mob set afire a motorcycle and a shop during the riot causing property of several lakh to be gutted in the fire. The police got cold feet when came to know of riot in the area and soon the area was swarmed with huge police forces led by IG Alok Sharma, DIG, Satya Narayan, SSP lucknow, district magistrate Randeev and other district administration officials. The police also sought help from the senior officials and para military forces and jawans of PAC were also dispatched to the scene to control the situation. The news of clash spread like wild fire and soon it gripped the neighbouring area while the situation at epicenter was going worse to worse. The police resorted to mild lathi charge to disperse the angry mob which was indulged in heavy stone pelting and knifing their rivals. In Chata Antram area, the angry mob even attacked the police force when the cops tried to pacify them. The rioters also clashed with SP City, Om Prakash, CO Abdul Rehman and SO Kanker Khera, Mahaveer Singh. They did not spare a TV journalist Abhishek Sharma who was covering the incident and snatched camera from his team. A TV journalist, Shekhar Prajapati suffered firearm injuries in the attack and had been admitted at the hospital.
Eyewitnesses said the rioters were opening fire with mousers as the presence of police force failed to deter them. They said several persons suffered injuries wither of firearm or by stabbing in the riot. The rioters caused damage to the camera teams of TV channels covering the incident.