After widespread violence in several districts over the past three days, Uttar Pradesh finally remained free from arson, vandalism and stone-pelting on Sunday -- but amid uneasy calm.
There were reports of some protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 and build up of violence in at least three districts, including Muzaffarnagar, Hapur and Saharanpur, but the police were able to contain the situation through talks and application of mild force.
The death count, however, increased to 19, as another person died in Kanpur on Sunday, succumbing to the bullet injury he suffered when an anti-CAA protest after the Friday namaz turned violent.
While mobile internet services were restored in Aligarh after a week, the shut down continued in at least 14 districts, including Lucknow, Saharanpur, Meerut, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Mau, Sambhal, Azamgarh, Agra, Kanpur, Unnao and Moradabad.
Inspector general (IG) of police, law and order, Praveen Kumar said, “No violence was reported from any district and the situation remained normal all throughout Sunday. Some stray incidents were reported but alert police personnel contained them well in time.”
He said that the deployment of police and paramilitary forces continued in all the violence-hit districts to avert any further trouble. “District police officials have been directed to hold meetings with public and various groups leaders to ensure peace and harmony,” said Kumar.
The IG said that the police were cracking down on hooligans in violence-hit districts and had arrested several people after identifying them from video footage and the photographs available with the police, the media and the general public.
“As many as 875 hooligans have been arrested in connection with the 164 FIRs registered across the state since Thursday. Besides, preventive action has been taken against 5,312 people,” he added.
Meanwhile, in Deoband, Saharanpur, hundreds gathered at the Eidgah Ground on Sunday to protest against the CAA. The group was led by leaders of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and ex-MLA Mavia Ali. They raised slogans against the Act.
SSP Saharanpur Dinesh Kumar said the protest was peaceful and the crowd returned after presenting a memorandum to the district authorities.
Similarly, hundreds of Muslim women came out on the streets of Hapur to register their protest against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). They marched with placards in hands. District magistrate Aditi Singh met them and received their memorandum. The protesters also presented her with flowers while apprising her of their worries.
There was some trouble in Muzaffarnagar. A group of people, returning from the burial ceremony of a man who died in the Friday violence, pelted stones on shops in the city area. The police personnel immediately chased away the crowd using mild force.
In Meerut, a group of people gathered at the violence-affected Hapur Road area in the morning but were pushed back into their houses by the paramilitary forces that have been deployed there since Saturday. Besides, all the five people who died during violence in Meerut, were buried amid tight security.
In Kanpur, police force deployment was intensified since Saturday night after two days of violent protests rocked the city. SSP Anant Deo said the police were on high alert and anybody involved in fomenting trouble would not be spared.
A police official unwilling to be named said that a man identified as 30-year-old Mohd Raees, who had suffered injuries during firing by some anti-social elements in the violence after the Friday prayers, died at a city hospital on Sunday.
He said Raees’ family did not get him admitted to the hospital for several hours after he suffered the injury and rushed him for treatment only on Saturday. “The family said they feared that the police would book them for violence if they took the injured to the hospital,” said the cop.
Earlier on Friday, two people had died due to bullet injuries in Kanpur. In addition, since Thursday, five people have lost their lives in Meerut, two each in Firozabad, Bijnor, Sambhal and Muzaffarnagar, and one each in Rampur, Varanasi and Lucknow -- taking the overall toll to 19.
Meanwhile, the state police authorities have, so far, confirmed 15 deaths, including four in Meerut, two each in Kanpur, Firozabad, Bijnor and Sambhal and one each in Rampur, Muzaffarnagar and Lucknow. They also said that none of the deaths were due to police firing.
