Uneasy calm prevailed in the Jahanabad area of Fatehpur, where tension erupted following a dispute over taking out of a procession by Vishwa Hindu Parishad to celebrate Makarsakranti on Thursday. At least half a dozen people were injured in the clash when a mob torched several vehicles, shops and houses during the violence.
SP, Rajiv Mehrotra said on Friday that 27 people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence. He said that the situation was tense but under control. Nine companies of PAC and two companies of RAF have been deployed in the area to control the situation.
Mehrotra said that Section 144 of the CrPC has been strictly implemented in the district after the violence. However all the markets in Jahanbad area was closed on Friday in protest againstThursday's incident.
Meanwhile, VHP chief Praveen Bhai Togodia, who was to address the `Hindu Sammelan’ function and had to withdraw due to the violence, blamed a section of the society for what he termed as a conspiracy to prevent him from speaking.
The dispute started after a members of a community opposed the procession brought out on the occasion of Makarsakranti through a particular route. However, the local police claimed that the procession was taken out and Togodia also addressed the people before leaving the spot