Bareilly on brink,officers shunted,Maulana released

Under pressure to bring the situation under control,the government in an abrupt move late on Wednesday night transferred Bareilly DIG M K Bashal and later shifted District Magistrate (DM) Ashish Goyal. ATS DIG Rajiv Sabharwal was flown in by a helicopter to take charge this morning. Pilibhit DM Anil Garg takes over from Goyal.

Sources at the Home Department said the transfer orders were issued soon after information came in around 1 am of a 3,000-strong mob gathering,ready to clash any time.

ADG (Law & Order) Brij Lal said curfew continued to be in place in several areas of the city,while police have made precautionary arrest of 266 people from both communities.

The tension started following a dispute over change of route of a Barawafat procession on March 2,leading to clashes. The curfew in the four affected areas has been in place since then.

Cops probe SIMI angle
The Bareilly police and state intelligence wing officials are probing if any group linked with the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India played a role in the communal violence. According to sources,in his narco test,SIMI chief Safdar Nagori had stated that the outfit has raised groups of young activists who would rush to a place within hours of a communal clash,exploiting the situation to target the rival community.