Tension prevails in violence-hit Moradabad, but situation under control

The issue of holding of a ‘mahapanchayat’ in Kanth area on Friday turned into a violent protest, during which BJP leaders, including four MPs and an MLA, who was accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots, were briefly detained.

Moradabad MP Kunwar Sarvesh Kumar Singh, Amroha MP Kunwar Singh Tanwar, Sambhal MP Satyapal Saini, Rampur MP Nepal Singh, MLA Sangeet Som and their supporters were among those detained on Friday.

The ‘mahapanchayat’ or gathering was called by the state BJP in defiance of the state order, after a recent dispute in Kanth, over removal of a loudspeaker from a temple, which led to communal tension in the area.

As many as 65 people, who were arrested yesterday for stone-pelting, firing and blocking the Moradabad-Saharanpur railway track, will be produced before the judicial magistrate today, Singh said.

District Magistrate Chandra Kant, who sustained serious injury in his eye has been referred to a Chennai hospital, he said.

Meanwhile, the railway track which was damaged during the protest is still closed.