One more dead, Agra gets new DM, SSP

The Agra police today had a hard time maintaining the edge they gained over rioters on Monday night, as another dead body was recovered from...

The Agra police today had a hard time maintaining the edge they gained over rioters on Monday night, as another dead body was recovered from the communally-sensitive Mantola area. With this, two persons have died since clashes broke out between BSP and SP workers on Sunday night.

While agencies reported that a man was lynched in the city today, District Magistrate Prashant Trivedi claimed that, apart from some minor incidents of burning of meat shops in the Dalit-infested Jagdishpura area, the situation was fully under control. But curfew will continue for at least another day, he added.

Trivedi said a huge police force has been deployed in the city, including 100 sub-inspectors, 100 head constables, 300 constables, 15 deputy SPs and five additional SPs, working in tandem with 10 additional DMs. There has been no significant recovery of illegal arms so far but a house-to-house search will be conducted soon.

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Later in the night, the transfer orders for Trivedi and Agra SSP D.S. Chauhan were announced. Nitish Kumar will now take over as the new DM and Ashutosh Pandey as the Agra SSP.

According to agency reports, at least one person was killed when a mob using iron bars attacked some people in the wee hours today. ‘‘Warring groups continued using stones and petrol bombs. There are reports of shops and houses being gutted in seven places,’’ police sources said. Two shoe and leather goods godowns were also gutted last night.

The police arrested at least 90 people today in connection with the clashes and instances of curfew violation. The Mantola SHO said nine criminal cases have been lodged with the police relating to riot-related crimes.

The administration has announced a relief of Rs 1.5 lakh to the family of Mukesh, who was killed in Monday’s riot. Curfew was imposed in some areas yesterday after a clash between BSP and SP supporters over the reception accorded to a BSP defector, recently inducted into the Mulayam Singh Cabinet.

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