Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh): The Uttar Pradesh police are mulling to release the posters of those involved in the June 10 Prayagraj violence case. Till now 92 accused have been arrested so far. Massive protests erupted across the country against the controversial remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
The Prayagraj violence erupted right after Friday prayers on June 10 in demand of Sharma's penalisation. The UP police is rigorously engaged in identifying the miscreants involved in arson, violence, stone-pelting, and instigating communal violence through photos and videos. Police are preparing to put up photographs of the stone pelters.
In this massive protest the alleged mastermind of the incident, Javed Mohammad has also been arrested. The police, till now, have lodged FIRs against 70 identified and more than 5,000 unidentified miscreants. Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said, at least 345 people have been arrested so far in connection with the protests. "We have arrested 92 people in Prayagraj, 100 in Saharanpur, 51 in Hathras, 41 in Ambedkar Nagar, 35 in Moradabad, 16 in Firozabad, 6 in Aligarh and 4 in Jalaun, taking the tally of those arrested to 345."
Also read: UP violence: Over 300 arrested, house of 'main accused' demolished in bulldozer action
In Saharanpur, 18 persons, including 12 Hindus and six Muslims, have been held for allegedly posting hate speech on social media, Senior Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar said. Police in Firozabad and Ambedkar Nagar have put out lookout posters for those suspected to have been involved in throwing stones at police and defying restrictions.
The Ambedkar Nagar Police circulated photos of 60 persons who are suspected to have indulged in stone-throwing and sloganeering in Tanda. The police also placed Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind district head Mufti Mehboob-u-Rehman under house arrest. Meanwhile, after the demolition of the house of prime accused Javed Mohammad in Prayagraj, shopkeepers and residents of other localities in the city, including in Atala, vacated the buildings occupied by them in fear of action by the authorities.
The Atala locality witnessed large-scale protests and stone-throwing on June 10. The police alleged that some deliberately spoke provocative things on the spot to instigate the mob. After adding fuel to the flames the miscreants specifically targeted the police and in retaliation when the police tried to stop them, the miscreants became more furious and started firing petrol bombs and pelted stones, said an inspector of Khuldabad police present in the ruckus. ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar claimed that "all attempts to create tension in the coming Friday prayer will be foiled since the police are fully prepared to tackle the miscreants now."
