The ban on internet service continued in the city after a violent controversy over the ‘I Love Muhammad’ poster in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh last week. However, the situation in the city remained calm on Friday and security arrangements were extended. Officers and security forces maintained control of the situation through the flag march and padyatra, while the religious leaders appealed to the people to maintain peace.
Meanwhile, the police stopped the Bareilly visit of Mata Prasad Pandey, the leader of the Samajwadi Party. Pandey said that he was given notice through the District Magistrate that his visit could spoil the atmosphere. Pandey said that the government is preventing them from going there to hide their failures. A heavy police station was deployed outside his residence in Lucknow.
According to the police, Friday’s prayers were peacefully concluded in all the mosques and the citizens fully cooperated with the administration. The officers were divided into super zones, zones and sectors and officers were deployed at various places. Monitoring was also done through the drone. Manikandan, Vice President of Bareilly Development Authority, said that a list of immovable properties of the culprits involved in the violence is being prepared and action will be taken soon.
Let me tell you that the dispute started on 9 September, when an FIR was registered against 24 people for the poster of ‘I Love Muhammad’ during the Barawafat procession. The Hindu organizations of the region described the posters as “deliberate abolition”. On September 26, around 2,000 people gathered outside a mosque in the Kotwali area and during the protest, protesters threw stones at the police, after which the police lathi -charged. According to the current information, so far 81 people have been arrested in this case, which includes Maulana Tauqir Raza Khan and his associates.
The administration in the city has tightened security and appealed to the people to maintain peace. The damage during the violence and law and order situation is being monitored.