Spiralling violence in Muzaffarnagar kills 21

At least 10 more people were killed in spiralling violence in the district on Sunday, taking the toll to 21 in the district. The army staged flag marches and thousands of anti-riot police personnel were deployed to restore law and order.

“As it (violence) is going on in several villages, it is taking time to defuse the situation,” Additional Director General of Police Arun Kumar, who took stock of the situation in the affected areas, said.      

District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said 21 people had died in the violence so far. In Lucknow, state Home Secretary Kamal Saxena said 19 people had been killed in the violence, including 11 on Saturday.     

Saxena said adequate force had been deployed in the affected areas and violence had been reported from Sisauli, Shahpur, Fugna, Kalapar and Dhaurakala areas of the western Uttar Pradesh district. In one place, Army had to resort to firing after someone opened fire at them, he said. Asked whether shoot-at-sight orders had been given, Saxena said directives had been issued to control the situation and for that, if necessary, firing could be done.     

While curfew remained in force in Civil Lines, Kotwali and Nai Mandi town areas, with the Army carrying out a flag march, violence has spread to more rural areas.     

ADG Kumar, escorted by a massive contingent of security personnel, claimed only four police station areas were affected. Officials said apart from the Army, 10,000 Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel, 1,300 Central Reserve Police Force men and 1,200 Rapid Action Force personnel had been deployed. In Kutba, where four were killed, mobs set ablaze a religious place, several shops and vehicles. In Phugana village cops said three members of a community had taken shelter in a police station. Other badly affected villages were Shahpur, Bhuvana and Basi Kala.     

Army assistance has been sought in nearby Shamli and Meerut district, Army sources said. Tension has been high in the district since three persons were killed in Kawal village on August 27.

On Saturday, nine persons, including a TV channel journalist, were killed and 34 injured in clashes. IBN7 channel’s part-time correspondent Rajesh Verma and a photographer hired by police, Israr, were among those killed.

Giving details about the clashes, Kumar said, “There was an incident in a village two days ago and a fake video related to murder of two persons in a village was uploaded on the internet.  We blocked that video but unfortunately CDs were circulated in the village. One community gave a call for a mahapanchayat (village council) and created a law and order situation. When people started coming from villages, communal clashes took place at two places. When the tension was visible, people were asked to disperse. While they were dispersing, there was political violence in the district.”