Despite heavy presence of security personnel, including the Army in the region, several incidents of communal violence were reported from rural areas in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts that claimed one death each from the two districts on Monday. One person was killed in Titawi, Saharanpur.
Urban localities bore an uneasy calm even as simmering tension spread further in neighbouring districts. Rural areas were worst affected in both the districts.
locals blamed the administration and local politicians for escalation in violence, even as the Government transferred top police officials, including Saharanpur DIG, SSP Muzaffarnagar and Shamli SP.
On the second consecutive day, curfew remain clamped in riot-hit areas and the Army staged flag march. The official death toll on Monday rose to 33. Meanwhile, the Akhilesh Yadav Government on Monday evening announced setting up of an inquiry commission headed by (retired) Justice Vishnu Sahai to probe the violence.
Fresh cases of violence were reported from Mirpura, Bahawdi, Kutba-Kutbi, Bilaspur, Fulgana, Nath, Bawdi in Muzaffarnagar, while in Shamli, areas like lalonkhudi, Kalander Shah, Nandu Prasad, Timarsa, Majra, Charan Singh Colony, Dayanand colony, Simbalka, Kirana road, Badi Mata, Railway crossing area and Babri region witnessed communal tension. The usually bustling streets and junctions of this violence-hit district like Shiv Chowk, Bhagat Singh Road and Roorkee Road wore a deserted look with only police and Army personnel seen.
Communal tension that originated from Muzaffarnagar district has spread to Shamli and rural belts of Meerut. Concerned over violence spilling out of the borders of Muzzaffarnagar, residents in Saharanpur, Hapur and Deoband on Monday appealed to locals to maintain peace. On Sunday night, most part of the city area of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli witnessed unabated movement of hooligans. Situation aggravated in Shamli on Monday, however city areas of Muzaffarnagar were visibly normal. While expressing their fear, residents of several localities of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli said that several youths moving in group kept brandishing their arms and involved in indiscriminate firing in several localities at night. "It happened despite the curfew in place and so-called heavy bandobast by the State Government. Hooligans were shouting communal slogans but no one security personnel dared to stop them. The failure of the administration indicates that they are having free run under the patronage of senior police officials at the behest of influential leaders of the ruling party," said a resident of Hanuman Chowk of Muzaffarnagar city.
The residents of Shamli blamed local administration for instigating hoodlums to attack people of majority community. "The senior officials of police are helping them directly in creating communal tension in the region and are arresting only innocent people.
Police have also arrested more than 50 youths of Hindu community while detained around 125 without slapping any case on them. They are taking proper care of minority people," said a resident of Charan Singh colony in Shamli requesting anonymity.
On Monday, two more deaths were reported from riot-ridden region with one in Batrara Village under Babri Police Station area. Another death was reported in Gunarsa under Phugana Police Station area near Deoband.
Saharanpur was tense on Monday. Sarvdalya Sangat Committee, which was set up 25 years ago and consists of people of all religious groups, is organising a silent meet at the Gandhi Park on Tuesday at 11 am. "People of the district will sit together and pray for the peace in the region. What has happened in Muzaffarnagar is outcome of political conspiracies; it is nothing to do with religion. It is plot to create divide among the people on religious line which will continue till 2014 general elections," said Virender Thakur, former MlA of Saharanpur.
"This (silent protest) move has been initiated to rise above the interest of various political parties who are trying to persuade people to get impulsive on minor issues and take the path of violence. The committee along with local people and senior citizens have been holding meetings and trying to maintain peace. They have also been convincing people to not get influenced by any person belonging to any political party," he added.
Abdul Hamid, Superintendent of Police, Shamli, said that they are keeping close eye on every suspicious movement in the city. Eight battalions of reserve police forces along with Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) are patroling in the region. And whole incident is being monitored by IG and DIG of the region.
local people also blamed that the officials have freed them to move in their region while Hindus have been confined to their homes. local administrations of both districts were alleged to be distributing food and other materials in the areas dominated by minority people only. "We are living here without any help from the Government. We have shortage of food and other articles. Even the policemen are not allowing ambulances to move in the city," said Shivam Singhal, a resident of Muzaffarnagar district.
In other significant development, the UP Government on Monday transferred top police officials, including Saharanpur DIG, SSP Muzaffarnagar and SP Shamli. Violence-hit Muzaffarnagar lies in Saharanpur range. "We are also cancelling more arms licenses in Phugana, Shahpur, Dhaurakalan as they were misused during the violence," ADG, law and Order, Arun Kumar said.