Kanpur violence: Investigators suspect foreign hand, say stone pelters were paid money

Investigators in the June 3 Kanpur violence over the insulting remarks by now suspended BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, have claimed the involvement of a foreign hand in inciting the violence saying stone pelters were paid between Rs 500 to Rs 1000 for the purpose.

Kanpur: Investigators in the June 3 Kanpur violence over the insulting remarks by now suspended BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, have claimed the involvement of a foreign hand in inciting the violence saying stone pelters were paid between Rs 500 to Rs 1000 for the purpose. At least 40 people, including 20 police personnel, were injured during the clashes in Pared, Nai Sadak, and Yateemkhana areas of the city after Friday prayers when some people tried to force shopkeepers to down shutters over allegedly insulting remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma during a TV debate recently, according to police.

The SIT probing the case has claimed to have recovered a mobile from one accused Akeel Khichdi, a member of the D-2 gang from which conversations over the use of bombs to incite violence have been revealed. In the purported conversations, the man has been asked to reach Al Barkat Market Pechbagh with bombs. “Reach straight to Gudde Bhai's flat and after reaching there, call on the number of Gudde Bhai's boy Anshu, who will come down and then run straight to Chandeshwar.

Now, no one will back down, carefully. Shaikh sahib's order is there, show Bhai's photo to all the boys so that they can recognize it. If the weapons are short, go straight to Bhai,” The purported conversation reads as per the investigators. Besides, calls have been traced to Pakistan, Oman, and other countries from Khichdi's phone.

Investigators said that besides the probe by UP Police and ATS currently underway, NIA officers can arrive in Kanpur to probe the case and interrogate miscreants or the arrested D-2 gang member, Police Commissioner Vijay Singh Meena said. Meanwhile, investigators in the case said that the accused Mukhtar Baba arrested in the case revealed during questioning that stone pelting boys were paid money ranging from 500 to 1000 rupees.

The district administration is getting all the properties of Mukhtar checked. It is being claimed that Mukhtar has “wrongly bought many properties in the name of his daughter and his wife”. A probe into the allegations is going on.