Police admit 1 died in Faizabad clash

Inspector General (Lucknow Zone) Subhash Chandra said Durga Prasad,who was stabbed to death in Bhadarsa village of Pura Kalandar police station area,was attacked during the clash between the two communities. He said the two groups were engaged in brick-batting when someone stabbed him with scissors. Durga Prasad died on the way to hospital.

On Thursday,the IG had said that Durga Prasad’s death was unrelated to the violence in the town and blamed it on personal enmity.

Asked about the death of another person,Mohammad Umar,who was beaten to death in Inayat Nagar area on Wednesday night,the IG said his family had lodged a complaint alleging murder by rivals over personal enmity.

Meanwhile,IG (Law and Order) BP Singh said that the situation is under control in the district,but City Kotwali and Cantonment police station areas remained under curfew. He also said that 13 FIRs have been lodged in connection with the incidents of rioting,arson,injuries to policemen and locals and one death. As many as 22 persons had been arrested,he said.

The rioters had torched shops and vehicles during the clashes,which broke out in the Chowk area of the town during the Durga puja procession. Singh said that in order to maintain peace across the state DGP headquarters have given 55 companies of PAC,10 of Rapid Action Force and 2500 recruit sub-inspectors for deployment in sensitive districts.

BJP says SP ‘minority appeasement’ at fault

The BJP on Friday slammed the SP government for its handling of the communal riots in the state and warned of “long term consequences” if the government fails to tackle it.

The BJP MP from Lucknow,Lalji Tandon,said communal riots have become frequent in the state since the SP came to power. He said the riots were not started by locals and there were “outside forces” trying to damage the harmony of the society. He accused the government of shielding the “outside forces”.

In Delhi,however,the BJP spokesperson blamed the riots on SP’s “minority appeasement politics” saying it has led to “vicious attacks by radical elements.

“There is a deliberate design to create communal strife all over UP. Bareilly,Lucknow,Kosi Kalan,Ghaziabad,Allahabad,Kanpur,Rudoli,Badarsa and many other places have witnessed such vicious attacks by radical elements among the minority community,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

Tandon,meanwhile,alleged that the UP government did not allow him to enter Faizabad district on Friday and he was sent back from Barabanki. He said SP leaders were instead given passes to visit the riot affected areas in Faizabad.

Shia cleric demands strict action

Lucknow: Noted Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad on Friday called for strict action against forces trying to vitiate the communal atmosphere in the state. Warning that it would be a “failure” on part of the state government if it fails to control the situation,he said: “Till now there has not been enough strictness following which a number of communal incidents have taken place in the state”,as he shared dais with Hindu spiritual leaders from Ayodhya to appeal for restoring normalcy in Faizabad.