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Journalism of Courage
Muzaffarnagar district was largely peaceful Wednesday,leading to a longer relaxation of curfew in the main town,though Baghpat saw a clash in which around half-a-dozen policemen and locals were injured.
A police team that included Meerut DIG K Satya Narayan and Baghpat SP Laxmi Singh were conducting a peace meeting at Baghpats Kirthal village in the afternoon when a group arrived and started pelting stones,the DIG said. This led to exchange of fire and missiles until additional forces arrived and dispersed the mob with a lathicharge and by firing rubber bullets. IG STF Ashish Gupta said the situation is under control. Weapons and ammunition were seized and about a dozen persons taken into custody,the DIG said
R K Vishwakarma,inspector general law and order said,The region has remained largely peaceful. With law and order improving,we have stepped up the number of arrests,close to 400 so far,both preventive and on charges of rioting. Some are also being charged under sections of the NSA.
Curfew was relaxed for four hours Wednesday. The curfew was relaxed in Muzaffarnagar city from 12.30 to 4.30 pm on Wednesday,two hours longer than Tuesday. We will keep increasing the relaxation upon review in the next few days. Within the week,we are hopeful that the curfew will be lifted totally, said Kaushal Raj Sharma,district magistrate.
Sharma said that within the next three days,the focus would shift to identifying the instigators of the violence. The preventive detentions have worked,as no serious incidents have taken place. We will soon start the process of identifying those who perpetrated the violence, Sharma said.
He added that with the improving law and order situation,the administration could now focus on rehabilitation. We will have to convince people that their villages are safe,and give them confidence, he said.
