Tension continued to prevail in eastern UP after more than 250 shops including Sidhuwa-sthan, a temple in Padrauna in Kushinagar and a bogie of the Inter-City Express on Lar Road, Deoria was set afire by rioters. Following intensified violence in the district and an attack on the police team by members of the Hindu Yuva Wahini, the police patrol team late on Tuesday night announced that curfew would be clamped by early morning. However, on Wednesday, District Magistrate Shahi Bushan Lal Shushil said that a large posse of police force had already reached the areas and they had decided against the curfew after a fresh review of the law and order situation. “Tuesday’s incident in which a child and a woman died was the result of confusion as the police force had not expected any attack from the HYW members. But now we are alert and more than 20 rioters from both sides have been arrested,” he said. When contacted, Senior Superintendent of Police RK Srivastava confirmed that the situation was still explosive. He claimed, however, that police were keeping a strict vigil.“Section 144 has been imposed in Padrauna area from where large scale violence was reported at night. Troublemakers from both communities had sprung into action and were giving rise to violence. But we are sure that they are tame now,” Srivastava said. He also disclosed that the Yagya platform of Sudhua-sthen temple had been burnt by the rioters. As per reports, four shops of the minority community were set ablaze in Misraulia, Atisar and Belwachungi early Wednesday morning. They took revenge by burning shops belonging the other community on Kasyan Road, Khiriyan Tola, Chhawani and Dulahi Road. Rioters even stopped the Lucknow-bound Inter-City Express and hurled burning substances into one of its compartments. The train resumed journey after four hours.
