Story in numbers: UP witnesses 60 communal incidents in 2017

Until May, at least 16 people were killed, 151 injured in state: Ministry data

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on November 16, claimed that law and order situation had improved in the state, and not a single riot had taken place during the eight months of his government.

“When we came to power, hooliganism was at its peak and there was not a day when riots did not take place,” Adityanath had said. “The governments at the helm used to call over rioters and honour them, but in these eight months, not a single riot has taken place.”

However, we fact-checked his claim and found it incorrect.

As many as 60 incidents of communal riot were reported in Uttar Pradesh till May, which killed 16 people and injured 151, according to data presented by the home affairs ministry in Parliament on August 8.

Yogi Adityanath took oath as chief minister on March 19.

Violent clashes were reported between Dalits and Thakurs in May, and again in July and September.

Between 2010 and 2015, communal violence in Muzaffarnagar rose five-fold, according to data sourced from the office of director-general of police, Uttar Pradesh.

In April, in Saharanpur, Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Raghav Lakhanpal Sharma led an Ambedkar shobha yatra to mark the Ambedkar Jayanti in communally sensitive parts of the town, which led to clashes.