Saharanpur riots: Government to investigate ISI involvement

The government Wednesday said it will investigate a union minister's allegation of ISI involvement in the communal riots that rocked Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

"Government will investigate the allegation of (MSME Minister) Kalraj Mishra that there could be Pakistani intelligence agency ISI's hand behind the Saharanpur communal riots," Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh told reporters.

Union Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Kalraj Mishra Tuesday, while speaking to reporters in Mirzapur, raised suspicion that there could be an ISI (Inter- Services Intelligence) hand in the July 26 Saharanpur riots.

Jitendra Singh said the central government is in touch with the Uttar Pradesh government over the situation there.

"There should be a fair probe so people of any community or religion do not feel they are being discriminated against," he said.

Earlier, a delegation of BJP leaders, led by the Delhi unit chief Satish Upadhyay submitted a memorandum to Jitendra Singh demanding a judicial inquiry into the communal riots.

Three people were killed and many suffered critical injuries as Muslim and Sikh mobs clashed over a land dispute on the streets of Saharanpur city, about 170 km from New Delhi, forcing authorities to clamp curfew.

Mishra, an MP from Deoria, accused the Uttar Pradesh government of failing to check rising crime and wanted security agencies to probe why communal violence has become so frequent in the state in the past two years.