Protesters pelt a police vehicle with stones in Lucknow on Thursday. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)
A day after violence broke out in Muzaffarnagar amid protests against the new citizenship law, police claim that the situation was calm and there are no law and order problems. The police resorted to lathicharge and stone pelting but have denied any casualties linked to protests or police action.
“The situation is completely under control in Muzaffarnagar. There was aggression on the side of the protesters since there was stone-pelting in some pockets. The police resorted to lathicharge with restraint in order to disperse the crowd. There is no truth to the rumours that people have died during protests [here] and there are merely injuries,” said Abhishek Yadav, SSP, Muzaffarnagar.
According to locals, a protest began at Nagina Chowk and spread to nearby parts. The crowd soon became agitated and stones were pelted near a mosque, they said. Some protesters even set fire to public property,apart from a police jeep, police claimed.
Local residents alleged that a 23-year-old person died during protests after he was referred to Meerut.
“There is no evidence of the death being linked to the protests. He died in Meerut and belonged to Muzaffarnagar. It is possible he died due to different reasons and it was confusedly linked to the protest,” claimed Abhishek Yadav.
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