SIMI offshoot may be behind Lucknow riots

The Intelligence department had conveyed to the Home department and the DGP fears that law and order could disturbed after Friday prayers. The Home Department and the DGP passed on the input to Lucknow DM and the SSP,the sources said. The Lucknow administration and the police,however,were told not to use force.

The police have identified some of the troublemakers involved in the violence and are trying to trace them,said Lucknow IG Subhash Chandra. Efforts are also on to identify people who allegedly instigated the mob,he added.

Asked about police inaction,Chandra said: An inspector along with some PAC constables were deployed at Tile Wali Masjid,as we had not expected the violence from the mob. The mob was in thousands which outnumbered the policemen.