Prophet Muhammad row: In crackdown after Friday's violence, UP Police arrest 245, book 6,000

LUCKNOW: Intensifying its crackdown on protesters who indulged in violence in different parts of the state, police arrested 245 people by Saturday afternoon for stone-pelting and defying law and order restrictions.
Protests were held after the Friday prayers against the controversial remarks made by former BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Navin Kumar Jindal on Prophet Muhammad.
In FIRs lodged in connection with these incidents, as many as over 6,000 people, including unidentified mobs, have been booked.
Senior home department and police officials are keeping a close watch on such incidents as well as police action that is being initiated. At least 150 companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and another 20 companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed in sensitive areas across the state.
Additional director general of police, law and order, Prashant Kumar told TOI that peace prevailed in the entire state on Saturday.
Talking about the police crackdown, Kumar added that eight persons were arrested in Firozabad, three in Aligarh, 50 in Hathras, 25 in Moradabad, 28 in Ambedkarnagar, 64 in Saharanpur, and 68 in Prayagraj.
Kumar also said that as many as 6,000 persons have been booked in these districts in 13 FIRs (including one each in Kheri and Jalaun), out of which 245 are identified and have been arrested while 5,755 are being identified.
“CCTVs are being used to trace the pelters, also journalists who were on the spot and have videos are being used for identification. The local intelligence units are being instructed to zero in on troublemakers, while properties of some of the main accused identified in the violence in Prayagraj are also being tracked,” he said.
The officer also added that the social media cell of the UP Police as well as the district police are keeping round-the-clock vigilance on social media handles trying to spread hatred and vitiate atmosphere.
In Ambedkarnagar, the imam of a mosque in Tanda, identified as Faraz Ahmad and accused of stoking the protests, has been arrested along with 27 others. The police teams also met religious leaders to maintain calm.
Three FIRs were registered in Saharanpur which saw violence on Friday. “In one registered at Kotwali police station, 40 persons have been arrested and police are preparing to press the National Security Act (NSA) against those who caused the trouble,” said Saharanpur SSP Akash Tomar.
Tomar also added that properties of two involved in Friday’s violence, Abdul Wakir and Muzammil, have been razed. They have also been arrested.
In Moradabad, police teams remained on the violence-hit spot and kept scanning the CCTVs. In Firozabad, local intelligence units visited the spot and checked credentials of locals in order to identify outsiders involved in the violence. Heavy police force remained deployed in Hathras.
In Prayagraj, officers of Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA), visited the spot of violence and carried out a survey of properties of those arrested in the violence.
Meanwhile, in Lucknow, police commissioner DK Thakur conducted a meeting with the West Zone which comprises the old city areas. “We have to maintain vigilance of the highest level, and be sensitive in the aftermath of protests, while communication with religious heads will be continued,” he said.
Minors found involved in protests, stone-pelting: UP cops
Initial investigations into the Friday violence and protests reveal that minors were also involved in stone-pelting incidents in several places, including Prayagraj, Saharanpur, Ambedkarnagar and Moradabad.
Additional director general of police (law and order) Prashant Kumar citing reports from district police chiefs, said instances of minors being involved in violence that erupted after Friday prayers have come to the fore.
“Credentials of identified minor accused are being verified by the police to find out if they have a checkered past,” he said.
“We are also probing the larger conspiracy to stoke the violence in the state,” he said.
Moradabad SP Hemant Kutiyal said that police have invoked relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act against about 50 unidentified minors who have been booked.
“We are first identifying the minors and teenagers who indulged in pelting stones at the police teams and sloganeering despite appeals from the police teams on Friday. Investigation will also be done first to known whether they are locals, and secondly, if any allurement was made to them,” he said. Kutiyal also added that appeals have been made to all the religious leaders after the violence.
Similarly, in Saharanpur, the SSP said over 100 teenagers could be spotted on CCTVs indulging in stone-pelting. “We have also booked unidentified teenagers protesting and raising slogans despite cops on the spot dissuading them to do so,” he said. Similar reports have been received from Prayagraj as well.
ADG, Prayagraj zone, Prem Prakash, told reporters that the crowd had been dispersed following the Friday prayers by the cops. But children, teenagers equipped with stones and covered faces started emerging and raising slogans. Thereafter, the appeals made by the cops to go inside their homes were not adhered to and they started pelting stones.
“Police exercised maximum restraint as a significant number of kids were involved. They were pelting stones intermittently. Mischievous elements incited kids based on faith and pushed them to attack,” said Prakash.
In Ambedkarnagar, police said that an imam was seen inciting a crowd of teenagers to protest and raise slogans. He was immediately arrested from the spot.