Uneasy calm in Kanth BJP trying to disturb communal harmony: Admin

Even as an uneasy calm prevails in the Kanth area of Moradabad district, the local administration accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying  to disturb communal harmony and also for the Friday’s violence. 

The police have registered cases in connection with the violence against 40 named and 500 unknown persons.The injured District Magistrate, Chandrakant, who received critical injury in his eye, has been sent to Chennai for treatment. “The local BJP MP, Kunwar Sarvesh Singh, is the main person who was trying to disturb communal harmony in the area for political gains,” said a very senior police officer of Moradabad. He claimed that the local residents had accepted the solution given by the administration but still the BJP leaders had called a panchayat with the aim to create differences between the two communities. 

The officer said that to prevent the situation from taking a turn for the worse, the police had refrained from arresting some persons responsible for the present situation but they would be round up soon.It may be mentioned here that all the BJP leaders, including MPs and MlAs, who were detained on Friday afternoon, were released by the administration on personal bonds.Meanwhile Moradabad’s SSP Dharamveer told reporters that the situation was under control and so far 62 persons had been taken into custody for the disturbance. 

He said the BJP MPs, MlAs and other leaders had been released on Friday night and they had been asked not to enter the affected village again. The SSP said a heavy police force was patrolling the sensitive areas and all possible steps had been taken to maintain law and order.Tension had started building up in Akbarpur village in mid-June when the district authorities disconnected the connection of a new loudspeaker installed in a Ravidas temple of the Jatav community. The village has 70 Jatav families that come to pray in the temple.  

While disconnecting the loudspeaker, the district authorities said a certain faction of the villagers had filed a complaint against it.The BJP leaders took up the issue and called a mahapanchayat on Friday, but it was banned by the authorities.It is reported that BJP MP from Moradabad, Sarvesh  Kumar, had visited Akbarpur after winning the election and had gifted the loudspeaker to the Jatav temple. However, as per sources, the local MlA, now a Samajwadi Party supporter, wanted to mute the sound of the loudspeaker.

On Friday, a clash broke out between the locals and the police following a ban on holding of a the mahapanchayat and the section to ban loudspeaker at a religious place.  Detention of three BJP MPs and a legislator irked the people going to Akbarpur Chhedri village, about 40 km from the district headquarters, for the mahapanchayat.  An undeclared curfew-like situation prevailed in Kanth and its adjoining villages, where large contingents of security forces have been deployed.   

In the clash, Moradabad district Magistrate Chandrakant received serious injuries in the head and eye and had to be rushed to Chennai.SSP Dharamveer and Circle Officer Archana were also injured in the brick-batting by the mob on the rail tracks, leading to suspension of several trains for more than five hours. 

later the Railways diverted several long distance trains to other routes.