Situation in Muzaffarnagar under control, but sensitive: DM

Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma on Monday said the situation in the area is under control, but sensitive following incidents of violence over the weekend.

"We would prefer that nobody should come here (Muzaffarnagar) now because the situation is under control, but sensitive," he said.

Sharma said the district administration is making all efforts towards restoring peace.

"The situation is under control. There has been no news of fresh violence. The curfew will continue for the next 48 hours," he added.

Fourteen more people were killed in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district, taking the toll from two days of deadly communal clashes to 27.

According to a television channel, four BJP MLAs and a former Congress MP have been booked for Muzaffarnagar riots.

Top officials, including Saharanpur Divisional Commissioner SK Srivastava, DIG DC Mishra and Meerut IG Brijbhushan, have been shunted out. Four IG-level officers have now been sent to Meerut, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Bagpat to control the situation.

The administration has issued shoot-at-sight orders, as the violence has spread to the rural areas. The violence spread to Baghpat district late last night, where one person was killed and four others injured.

The army staged the flag march and took over law and order responsibilities in the districts of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli. The army has also been deployed in Meerut.

ADG Arun Kumar, who is camping in Muzaffarnagar, said that an IG-level officer has been stationed in each nearby districts of Meerut, Shamli, Baghpat, Saharanpur and Bijnore to avert any unwanted incident.

Violence broke out in the Kawal area of Muzaffarnagar on Saturday when members of a community returning from a panchayat meeting in Naglabadhod, three kilometres from Kawal, clashed with members of another community.