A day after the violent clashes between the police and the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protesters that led to the death of a pedestrian in Thakurganj area Lucknow, an eerie silence prevailed on the streets on Friday with people choosing to stay indoors.
The sole exception was Maulviganj area where a large number of people took to the streets after the Friday namaz. The police, however, succeeded in mollifying the mob which agreed to return to their homes.
Taking a lesson from Thursday incidents, additional police forces were deployed at different places in the Old City and police personnel were given clear direction to not allow protesters to reach Parivartan Chowk, which was the flash point of the protest on Thursday.
Also, heavy police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were deployed around Tile Wali Masjid where a large number of devotees went to offer juma namaz (Friday prayers).
The police had inputs that protests could begin after the namaz and hence all roads towards Imambara, Shia PG College and KGMU Convention Centre were barricaded.
However, the devotees returned to their homes after offering prayers at the grand mosque.
But as a precautionary measure, the point was not left unguarded even after the devotees left and a large number of police personnel were still camping in the area.
In Maulviganj, a huge number of people came on the road from different lanes, sending the cops into a tizzy. On being intimated, senior officials reached there with heavy police force and held talks after which the mob dispersed.
On the other hand, the police continued its search in different localities in Old City and arrested over 100 people on Friday.
A total of 11 cases — three in Hasanganj, two in Hazratganj, four in Thakurganj (including one in which a youth Mohammed Wakil was killed by a bullet) and two in Kaiserbagh, were registered against 4,000 persons, some of whom were identified later.
The police force on the streets was beefed up by additional cops on Friday to meet any situation.
In connection with the death of Mohammed Wakil, the father of the deceased lodged a report against unidentified assailants. He said that his son had gone to purchase food in apprehension of curfew being clamped and was returning home on foot when the tragedy struck. “He was trapped in a lane where someone fired a bullet at him,” he said.
Family members of Wakil laid him to rest in Misribagia graveyard in Thakurganj in the presence of police force.
At the mortuary, the Wakil’s autopsy was videographed.
The police said blackening was found around the gunshot wound on the body of the victim, suggesting that he was shot from point-blank range.
Police spokesman AK Dwivedi said the bore of the bullet was found to be of .32 bore. He discounted reports that Wakil was hit by a police bullet.
Sources said that a bullet got stuck in the spinal cord of the deceased and he died of excessive bleeding.
There were reports that another man had suffered injuries during the protest and died during treatment at Balrampur Hospital.
While a sub-inspector posted at Balrampur police outpost confirmed it, the police spokesman denied the report.