House of Atala violence mastermind demolished; over 400 held after Friday’s trouble in several States, Bengal stir spreads with attacks on trains
Pioneer News Service n Prayagraj/Kolkata
Over 400 people have been arrested so far in a clampdown on those involved in the violent protests on Friday in several States against the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by two now-sacked BJP functionaries, with authorities in Uttar Pradesh (UP) razing “illegal” houses of the accused for the second day. The Prayagraj administration on Sunday demolished the house of the Atala arson and stone-pelting mastermind, Javed Ahmed alias Javed Pump, in the old area amid tight security.
Top officials of the district administration and the police-led Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) jawans, and officers of the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) were present for the demolition. Many items, including cleavers and some documents, were recovered from the house. The demolition of the house with the aid of a PDA bulldozer started on Sunday afternoon.
The Prayagraj administration had on Saturday arrested 68 out of the 70 identified trouble-makers, including the alleged mastermind Javed Ahmad popularly known as Pump owing to his pump business, in connection with the violence in the Atala area of the district last Friday. The police have also detained about 20 suspects and they are being interrogated but they have not been arrested so far.
Elsewhere, there were a few sporadic incidents of violence and protests, with a group of people attacking and damaging a local train at Bethuadahari railway station in West Bengal’s Nadia district on Sunday evening.
Among those arrested, 304 were held in eight districts in UP