‘Anticipation failure led to escalation of violence across UP’

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh saw more violence, deaths and injuries across the state on Friday despite 3,300 house arrests, internet shutdown in 16 districts, at least 150 people in preventive custody and 70 others arrested after Thursday’s clashes between the police and protesters in Lucknow.

Although top state officials visited sensitive spots and met Muslim clerics to maintain peace in Lucknow, the exercise did not help in containing the situation in other parts of the state.

Apparently, all efforts by the state authorities to maintain law and order across UP failed as protesters took to the streets to defy Section 144 of CrPC that restricts public gathering and does not allow anybody to hold protests.

“It was due to anticipation failure. The state police authorities have failed to anticipate intelligence inputs which led to such large-scale violence in Lucknow as well as other parts of the state,” said former director general of police (DGP) AK Jain.

“They could have contained it well in Lucknow when there was so much of force already present on the spot,” he said.

“Although it seemed to be a well planned conspiracy by antisocial elements behind the violence in different parts of the state, police would have contained it if the authorities have anticipated things well,” he said.

“Anti-social elements were present in the garb of protesters,” he added.

He said it is quite clear from the police move to put people under house arrest and deploy police at sensitive points that they had information about protests but it was very unfortunate that violence escalated in so many districts.

A retired IAS officer said the police and district administration across the state should have not allowed people to gather at one spot in such large numbers.

He said they should have planned to disperse the crowd in small batches after Friday prayers rather than allowing them to gather at one place.