Riot drills ahead of Friday prayers in UP, Ranchi on alert

LUCKNOW/RANCHI: A week after being scorched by violent protests against a now-sidelined BJP duo’s controversial remarks on the Prophet, UP on Thursday added drones to its surveillance drill for Friday prayers across 53 districts, 24 of which have been flagged as “hypersensitive”.
Besides additional state and central paramilitary forces, 200 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary and 50 RAF units have been deployed to prevent a rerun of the June 10 rioting and arson that led to a spate of FIRs, 357 arrests in nine districts and “bulldozer action” on some suspects’ houses.
Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad and Saharanpur are the focus of the heightened security arrangements for Friday, sources said.
Additional chief secretary (home) Awanish Awasthi and DGP DS Chauhan held a review meeting on Thursday evening, where senior police and other district officials were told they would be liable for strict action in the event of any administrative laxity on Friday. A home department official said the officials were asked to cooperate and communicate effectively with prominent religious leaders in the areas within their jurisdiction.
ADGP (law and order) Prashant Kumar said drones would be used to aerially comb the narrow lanes and alleys in all “hypersensitive districts”, including Prayagraj, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ambedkarnagar, Ayodhya and Varanasi. The list of 29 “sensitive” districts include Etah, Mainpuri, Kannauj and Barabanki.
Police teams in Azamgarh, Balrampur, Gonda, Basti, Meerut, Agra and Mathura conducted mock riot drills during the day. Several religious leaders appealed to the faithful to maintain peace.
In Jharkhand’s Ranchi, where two people died and scores were injured in street violence during the June 10 protests, 12 platoons of the district police equipped with riot-control equipment will be deployed across the city on Friday. The district administration’s focus is on a 2.5km stretch between Albert Ekka Chowk and Sujata Chowk where most of last week's violence too place, sources said.
Besides state and central paramilitary forces, 200 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary and 50 RAF units have been deployed to prevent a rerun of the June 10 rioting and arson that led to 357 arrests in nine districts.