FIR against 26 for violence after temple demolition
A day after four people including a policeman were injured in clashes between police and villagers in Gaubhoj village in Sangadi area of Pilibhit, the district administration on Thursday imposed prohibitory orders and started a crackdown to arrest those involved in the incident.
The villagers were protesting against razing of a temple, which according to the municipality, was built on an encroached land.
Senior administrative and police officials inspected the area on Thursday and asked the villagers to maintain law and order.
Devranjan Verma, superintendent of police, Pilibhit, said, “The situation is peaceful and we have deployed several teams in the area to ensure law and order.” He said the police has registered FIR against 26 people under various sections of IPC and started the investigation.
“Prima facie, the incident appears to be planned and we are identifying those involved, using pictures and video of the incident,” said the SP. Apart from those named, police have identified over 60 others and are trying to trace them.
According to the police sources, villagers of Gaubhoj near Puranpur police post blocked the road and staged protest against the district administration for demolition of the temple on Tuesday. The temple was built on encroached public land. The group held a similar protest on Wednesday and was called for a meeting with the district administration to resolve the issue but the meeting apparently failed.