20 arrested, curfew on, yet sporadic violence erupts on outskirts of city; Rajnath briefs PM
Even though shoot-at-sight orders and curfew in violence-hit Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh (UP) prevented rioters from going on the rampage on Sunday, sporadic incidents of looting and clashes forced most people to stay indoors.
As the situation remained tense, the Centre kept a close watch and the Army was called in from neighbouring Delhi and Chandigarh to take control of the situation. There were no reports of clashes in urban pockets though sporadic violence erupted on the outskirts of the city. This included areas like Hasanpur, Shanti Nagar, Dolikhal, Habib Garh, labour Colony, Ambala Road and Gurudwara Road among others.
A handful of miscreants went on to block the highway leading to Ambala but were scattered by the police and the highway was cleared.
Curfew was imposed in six police station areas, including Kutubshehr, Janakpuri, Shahr Kotwali, Mandi and Dehat. Three persons were killed on Saturday and 19 others, including a policemen, injured in the clashes between two communities over a land dispute.
With Eid round the corner, Muslims in the city demanded lifting of curfew while the other communities cried foul saying this would aggravate the situation. The locals alleged that a biker gang in the city went on a firing spree despite the curfew being in place. They said the miscreants took advantage of the narrow by-lanes and escaped from the police. More than 150 vehicles, and over a hundred shops were set afire by rioters from both communities. Intensifying their vigil, the security forces used drones to identify rioters in the interiors of the city.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him about the situation in violence-hit Saharanpur and the steps taken by the Centre to curb violence.
During the 30-minute discussion, Singh told Modi that he was personally monitoring the situation and had spoken to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and asked him (Yadav) to take all possible steps to control the violence. The Home Ministry has already sent 600 paramilitary personnel to assist the State Government in maintaining law and order.
UP Additional Director General of Police (law and Order) Mukul Goel said: “No incident has been reported since Saturday. Curfew is in force and is being enforced strictly.”
Saharanpur District Magistrate Sandhya Tiwari, who toured the violence-hit areas, said: “The situation is better than the previous day. I have to just impose law and order in the city and the situation is quite normal now.”
She said 20 people have been arrested in connection with the violence. On the land dispute, Tiwari said the construction has been put on hold. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC have been invoked in the district and curfew was clamped in six areas, Commissioner of Saharanpur, Tanveer Zafar Ali said.
Meanwhile, a political blame game ensued over the violence with the Congress accusing the UP Government of ‘administrative lapse’ while the BJP alleged that Samajwadi Party was indulging in ‘vote-bank politics’. Reacting to the charges, Samajwadi Party said there was an effort to ‘disrupt peace in the State’ and that there was ‘no place for communalism, anti-social elements’.
Blaming local authorities for administrative lapses, Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that if it was a fact that there was a court judgement on the issue and police help was sought by one side, then it was the responsibility of the officials to find a solution and make both sides understand that the court order must be implemented.
BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain came down heavily on the UP Government saying it has completely failed to run the administration in the State. “The people ruling the State themselves want communal tensions so that they can indulge in vote-bank politics,” he alleged.
On Saturday, trouble began when members of one community started construction work at the site in Kutubsher area in the wee hours, which was objected to by the other group. Both the sides indulged in heavy brick-batting, arson and opened fire and there were reports of several shops being gutted in the clash, police said. Police had fired rubber bullets to control the situation as mobs went on the rampage, setting several shops afire. Additional forces, including from PAC, CRPF, RAF and ITBP have been deployed in the troubled areas.