7 detained for inciting communal hatred

Seven people were detained by police on Monday for allegedly inciting hatred between Hindus and Muslims, which led to a stand-off in Jaikhel area of Shahjahanpur on Sunday afternoon. This was the second such incident in the area within a fortnight and the district administration asked police to take strict action against those behind it.

“We identified 12 people and detained seven of them from Jaikhel on Monday” said Manoj Yadav, circle officer of the area. “A police team is interrogating the men who have been detained,” he added. On Sunday, a group of Hindus objected to renovation work at a local mosque. They alleged that “public space is being encroached by the renovation work” and asked the local administration to ensure that the construction is stopped.

“We complained about the construction on August 29, after which the work was halted. But they started the construction again on Sunday,” said Indresh Singh, one of the locals, who complained about the construction. Indresh and a group of men reportedly reached the mosque in the afternoon tried to stop the renovation work.

They were opposed by a group of Muslims. Tension started when a few miscreants allegedly spread false rumours of violence and called people from nearby areas to the spot. “One Iqbal and Shabez Khan called other miscreants to the spot, which escalated the tension,” the CO said.

Two teams of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) were also deployed by late afternoon. The heavy force was deployed to control the situation while the local administration held meetings with both sides to ward off any misunderstandings.

“Any kind of construction has been halted at the mosque and both sides have agreed to it. We have also asked the managing committee of the mosque to seek administration’s permission before undertaking any renovation,” said Jitendra Sharma, ADM, Shahjahanpur.