Hundreds held, house of accused razed in UP
Jharkhand police file 25 FIRS against 'thousands' after violent protests
Over 400 people have been arrested so far in a clampdown on those involved in the violent protests on Friday in several states, with authorities in Uttar Pradesh razing "illegal" houses of the accused for the second day. The protests had taken place against the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by two now-sacked BJP functionaries. There were a few sporadic incidents of violence and protests, with a group of people attacking and damaging a local train at Bethuadahari railway station in West Bengal’s Nadia district on Sunday evening.
Among those arrested, 304 were held in eight districts in Uttar Pradesh and 100 in Howrah and Murshidabad districts in West Bengal, while the Ranchi police registered 25 FIRS against “thousands” of people for the clashes that left two dead and scores of others injured in the Jharkhand capital, and stepped up security in other parts of the state also.
In Prayagraj, the civic body on Sunday demolished the house of the alleged mastermind of Friday’s violence amid heavy police deployment.
Internet services were restored in Ranchi after nearly 33 hours even as around 2,500 personnel of Rapid Action Force, anti-terrorism squad, special task force and district police remained deployed at strategic locations, including “38 identified vulnerable pockets”.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren ordered a high-level probe into the deadly violence that rocked Ranchi, a senior official said.
In West Bengal’s Nadia district, a large number of protestors put up a road blockade and when they were chased by the police, some of them entered the station and threw stones at the train, an officer said.