Due to police’s failure to impose prohibitory strictly on trouble-prone Muzaffarnagar district, clashes broke out between members of two communities once again leaving six people, including a TV journalist, dead and several others injured on Saturday.
The incident took place when Director General of Police Deoraj Nagar was himself camping in the district to avert any untoward incident following an intelligence report in this regard. However, what is more surprising that he left the district burning and air-dashed to lucknow where he took a meeting of senior officers, which included ADG (law and order) Arun Kumar, ADG Crime, SK Awasthi and IG STF in the evening.
An indefinite curfew was clamped on the region to quell the violence. Saturday’s incident occurred as a meeting was being held in Naglabadhod in defiance of prohibitory orders to demand withdrawal of cases registered in connection with August 27 violence in Kanwal. Tensions simmering since three persons were killed in Kawal village on August 27 erupted in clashes on Saturday in several parts of the district.
IBN7’s part-time correspondent Rajesh Verma and a photographer hired by police, Israr, were among those killed in the violence. Officials in lucknow said that six persons were killed and curfew has been clamped in Civil lines, Kotwali and Nai Mandi of Muzaffarnagar city. Officials in the district said that at least 34 people were injured.
The photographer was beaten to death in Sekeda village by a group of people returning from the meeting, police sources said. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Government announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the families of those killed and Rs 30,000 for those injured in the violence.
Principal Secretary (Home) RM Srivastava said that additional force, besides 34 companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) camping in Muzaffarnagar, has been dispatched to help local police in maintaining law and order situation.