A crime branch team of Kanpur police, on Saturday, arrested four persons, including the mastermind of the Kanpur Nagar violence in which bombs were hurled and stones pelted as members of a group attempted to force shopkeepers to down shutters over an alleged insult to Prophet Mohammed on a television show.
They were arrested from Javed Ahmad Khan’s YouTube channel office located in Hazratganj on Saturday.
Those arrested were identified as Hayat Zafar Hashmi of Chamanganj, who had given the call of bandh in protest against the remark of a Bharatiya Janata Party, Javed Ahmad Khan of Becon Ganj, Mohammed Rahil and Mohammed Sufian, both of Kanpur.
Giving this information, Kanpur Commissioner of Police Vijay Singh Meena said Hashmi was national chairman of Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Fans Association while Javed was state chairman of the association.
He said the police would invoke the National Security Act and seize the properties of the above named accused.
“We are also checking their links with the Popular Front of India (PFI) with whom they had a talk on June 3. We are also checking their bank account details and probing if they were funded for disturbing communal harmony in Kanpur. The police will seek 14 days’ custody of the accused to extract details from them and find out their networks, if there were any,” Meena said.
The commissioner of police said those linked with the incident would not be spared and stern action would be taken against them as per the law of the land.
Meena said the police suspected the accused had a link with the PFI.
“We have traced some calls and some clues and are working further to find if there was any link with the accused,” he said.
The commissioner of police said the arrested accused fled Kanpur after stoking violence and took shelter at the YouTube channel’s office in Hazratganj in Lucknow.
“Our team traced them out through human surveillance and raided the office and arrested the accused,” he said.
Clashes broke out in Parade, Nai Sarak and Yateem Khana areas of Kanpur Nagar after Friday namaz. Both the sides hurled bombs and opened fire as members of one group tried to enforce bandh in the area on the call of Maulana Mohammed Ali (MMA) Jauhar Fans Association chief Hayat Zafar Hashmi in protest against the insulting remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma during a television debate recently. Those rioters also clashed with police forcing the cops to use batons to disperse the mob.
On Friday, 18 people were arrested in connection with the incident. Those involved in the violence are being identified with the help of video clips of the incident. The accused and the conspirators will also be booked under Gangsters Act and their properties will be seized or demolished.
Heavy police force has been deployed in the affected areas and police are patrolling the area and keeping a close watch on every minute development. The situation is under control now. Additional force has been provided to tackle the situation. Twelve companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) have been sent to the area to maintain law and order.