2 killed as 2 minority communities clash in Saharanpur: curfew clamped
At least two persons were killed and 17 injured in a violent clash between two minority communities, prompting the authorities to clamp curfew in the entire city area of Saharanpur on Saturday. Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan had earlier told reporters in the state capital that curfew was clamped in three police station areas of Saharanpur and the situation was tense but under control.
However, the curfew was later extended to three more police station areas. “The clash broke out following a dispute over the land of a religious place,” Ranjan said, and added that additional para-military forces had been rushed to the spot and they were taking out flag marches. Besides, half-a-dozen companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and eight companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) had been rushed to the troubled city. Senior IAS officer Bhuvnesh Kumar and IPS officer Deepak Ratan (DIG) also air-dashed there to defuse the situation. Director General of Police Al Banerjee, who was monitoring the
situation from lucknow, also said that the situation was tense but under control. However, sources said that some cases of loot and arson were reported in the evening.
All the markets and petrol pumps in the city remained closed. All schools and colleges were also closed till further orders.Meanwhile, on coming to know about the clash, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav expressed his annoyance with senior administrative and police officers over the sudden spurt in communal violence in the state, particularly in Saharanpur.
The Chief Minister warned the officers and asked them to bring to the book those who were trying to create disturbance in the state. “The Chief Minister was furious and gave a dressing down to all officers present in the meeting over law and order in the state,” a senior official confided to some media persons, and added, “He (Chief Minister) also held a meeting with senior officers over law and order and directed them to take stern action against the culprits. later, on the directive of the Chief Minister, Ranjan held a separate meeting with senior officers to defuse the situation in Sahranpur. The Chief Secretary was peeved at the role of the intelligence units of the state and district as they had failed to alert the Government on the violence. “The intelligence officers in Saharanpur failed to alert the Government. This lapse should be taken seriously,” the Chief Secretary said in a statement issued here.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also talked to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to get first hand account of the situation in Saharanpur. He assured the Chief Minister of more central forces to help the local administration control the situation.
Giving details of the situation, Additional Director General of Police (law and Order) Mukul Goel said that two persons had died and more than 10 were injured in the clash while curfew was clamped in Kotwali City, Mandi and Kutubsher police station areas for indefinite period.
He said that RAF and PAC had been rushed to the spot. The trouble started in the morning when members of one minority community alleged that some members of another minority community had started building a place of worship on a disputed land even when the matter was in the court. The protest soon took a violent turn as both the sides attacked each other with sticks and rods and pelted stones. The situation worsened when members of one of the two communities outnumbered the other and engaged in loot and arson. They also torched hundreds of business establishments, giving a communal colour to the violence.
A mob also torched a petrol pump and several vehicles. The situation in Raiwalim lohainsarai, Nehru Market, Ambala road, Gurudwara Road and other adjoining areas became tense as mobs ransacked the business establishments.
The local administration and Saharanpur SSP Rajesh Pandey misjudged the situation and failed to handle it. They later sought help from adjoining districts and also more reserve forces from the Police Directorate. Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament from Saharanur, Raghav lakhanpal, who is camping in the city, held the district administration responsible for the violence.
He said the district administration waited for about three hours to act against the miscreants who went on the rampage. The BJP MP alleged that some Samajwadi Party leaders behind the violence and and even named them.
“The ruling party has conspired to spark this violence to get political mileage in the coming Assembly byelections,” he charged. More than a dozen people have been arrested so far in the violence. The dispute over construction of a place of worship on Gurudwara Road was the cause of the clash which broke out after midnight but some people said eve-teasing was behind it.