Citizenship Act stir: UP government blames violence on PFI, SIMI radicals from Malda

The statement came even as the government started the process to identify and attach property of rioters from CCTV footage in various towns.

Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel patrol a street following protests against the recently enacted Citizenship Amendment Act in several areas Moradabad Sunday Dec. 22 2019. (Photo | PTI) 

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday blamed a couple of banned outfits for the violence that erupted in the state and claimed 16 lives, besides resulting in large scale destruction of public property.

The statement came even as the government started the process to identify and attach the property of rioters from CCTV footage in various towns.

Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said the police had evidence of the role of ‘outsiders’ and members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in the violence.

He said some members of the two outfits hailing from Malda in West Bengal were among the 705 rioters arrested in the state so far.

Sharma said the police recovered 500 empty cartridges of a prohibited bore indicating that the protestors were using illegal weapons.

The Lucknow administration formed a four-member committee to assess the damages in the city.