Bulldozers continued to roll in Uttar Pradesh for the second day on Sunday, targeting those who allegedly orchestrated protests and riots on Friday last against BJP’s hate speech, with the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) razing a suspect’s house.
Parallelly, the police started sealing of properties of other accused elsewhere in UP. Properties of at least three persons were sealed in Kanpur for allegedly supporting rioters. In Prayagraj, the police identified Javed Ahmad a.k.a Javed Pump as the mastermind of the agitation that had turned violent. The demolition of his house in Kareli area began around 1 pm under police cover.
“The house was built without getting its building plan sanctioned by the PDA. He was issued a notice on May 10 and was told to present his point of view on May 24. Neither Javed nor his lawyer turned up on the appointed date. No document was presented in this regard, so demolition was ordered on May 25,” a PDA official said.
A senior police official said they had recovered some ‘objectionable’ materials, including Popular Front of India literature and flags, from Javed’s house during the demolition drive. Some reports suggested the police also recovered illegal weapons from his house. Javed’s daughter is social activist Afreen Fatima.
On Saturday, the properties of two other people accused of rioting were demolished in Saharanpur.
Meanwhile, in Assam, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, was imposed in Cachar and Karimgamj districts.Rallies and processions cannot be held without specific permission. A local train was attacked by protesters in Bethuadahari railway station in West Bengal’s Nadia district in the evening. In Ranchi, where two persons succumbed to their injuries on Saturday, a tense atmosphere prevailed. However, Internet services were restored. In Delhi, two persons were arrested for holding a protest in the Jama Masjid area.
Over 400 arrested
More than 400 people have so far been arrested over the ongoing protests against the hate speech. Of them, 304 were held in eight districts of Uttar Pradesh and 100 in West Bengal