Procession peaceful in sensitive village
LUCKNOW: Over 200 kanwarias peacefully participated in the annual procession in Khelum village in Bareilly on Thursday, under heavy police and administrative vigil.
The watertight security was ensured avoid any altercation. To note, over 30 people were injured in clashes in this village during the kanwar procession on July 21 last year.
According to police, a force of 200 personnel, including senior officials along with a battalion of PAC, was deployed in the village to ensure law and order during the annual procession.
Cops lined the houses shoulder to shoulder on both sides of the road as the procession of kanwariyas passed.
Five CCTV cameras on the route recorded their movement while police men deployed on roof tops kept vigil. The procession, escorted by a vehicle decked with sound amplifiers (DJ), moved slowly and ended at a temple about 300 metres inside the village where the kanwariyas offered Ganga jal.
Before entering the village, the procession was welcomed by a group of over 100 residents.
Two additional district magistrates.(ADMs), sub divisional magistrate(SDM) and superintendent of police (rural) watched the entire process from a distance.
To recall, over 30 people and 15 personnel of Indo-Tibetan Border Police were injured in the clashes on July 21 last year.
Later that day two FIRs, one against kanwariyas and the other against Muslims, were lodged in Aliganj police station. In the FIRs, 14 Hindus and 29 Muslims were booked for inciting violence and attempt to murder along with 200 unnamed people.
This year, the district administration began preparations in advance. Local police listed people ‘susceptible to get involved in clashes’ and issued them warning cards.
Red in colour, the cards have a message which reads, “We have come to know from trusted sources that you may cause trouble in kanwar yatra. So you are being warned with this card.”
An estimated 3,000 such cards were issued across the district, 278 of them to residents of Khelum, both Hindus and Muslims.
The local police also got bonds of Rs 5 lakh signed by those who had been involved in such incidents in the past. A control room was also established in the village and CCTV cameras were placed on the route taken by the kanwariyas.
“These measures were part of the regular exercise conducted by police to ensure security,” said senior superintendent of police Muniraj.
These efforts reportedly forced some Muslim families, who have their houses on the road taken by kanwariyas, to lock their homes and move out.
“Over a dozen families have locked their homes and have gone to live with their relatives fearing backlash from police in case of an incident,” said Sarver Khan, a village elder.
Though administrative officials confirmed that a few Muslims families had left the village, they denied that it was due to administrative or police pressure. “Some families of the village have reportedly gone to nearby villages.
This has nothing to do with the administration, nor can we prevent anyone from leaving their own house,” said additional district magistrate of Bareilly RS Dwivedi.