Cleric arrested day after violence rocks Bareilly

The Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday arrested Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan in connection with the violence that erupted in Bareilly a day ago, after the cleric made an announcement postponing a proposed demonstration in support of the “I Love Muhammad” campaign, officials said.

- Deepak Lavania

Police stand guard outside a dargah in Bareilly on Saturday.

Khan has been sent to judicial custody, said police, adding that they have registered 10 first information reports (FIR) so far against 2,000 people, several of them unidentified. Thirty-nine people have been arrested in the case so far.

Officers also said internet services in the area have been suspended, saying social media was used to incite violence on Friday.

Responding to the developments, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said “a maulana in Bareilly forgot who holds power in the state” and assumed “he could disrupt the system at will.”

“We made it clear that there will be no blockade and no curfew,” he said at an event in Lucknow.

Deputy inspector general of police (Bareilly Range) Ajay Kumar Sahni said that social media was used to gather people and incite violence. “A large number of weapons and stones have been recovered from the protestors... Police personnel were fired at and stones were also pelted... 22 policemen have been injured. Empty shells, cartridges, pistols, and broken glass bottles have been recovered from the protest site,” he added.