Kanpur violence: Over 800 booked, 24 held; cops looking into possible PFI link

The Uttar Pradesh Police has booked over 800 people arrested 24 including the suspected mastermind and detained 12 for questioning in connection with rioting and violence in Kanpur officials said on SaturdayKanpur Police Commissioner V S Meena said the accused will be booked under the stringent National Security Act and the Gangster Act while the possible role of groups like the Popular Front of India PFI and others is being looked intoProperties of those involved in the violence will be seized or demolished said Additional Director General Law and Order Prashant KumarWe have identified 36 people who were involved in the violence with help of CCTV footage and other video recordings of the incidents A total of 24 people have been arrested so far of which 18 were held on Friday the Kanpur police commissioner saidAmong those arrested is Hayat Zafar Hashmi the chief of Maulana Mohammed Ali MMA Jauhar Fans Association which is a local social group Hashmi who is suspected to be the mastermind behind the violence was arrested along with three others from the Hazratganj area of LucknowThe arrested accused will be produced in court and we will seek 14 days of police remand to interrogate them about the conspiracy behind the incident the officer saidWe are probing the incident from various angles and looking into the involvement of groups like PFI and others We are also looking into the aspect of foreign funding Anyone who is found guilty will not be spared Meena told PTIThe officer also said the police are looking into lapses on the part of the force in preventing the violenceThe police have sought help of experts fro the Forensic Science Laboratory to recover data from the mobile phones seized from the arrested accused They are scanning over 200 videos clips of the incident to identify those involved in stone peltingThe area is peaceful and we are maintaining a roundtheclock vigil Additional Commissioner of Police law and order Anand Prakash Tiwari said adding three FIRs for rioting and violence have been lodged at Beckonganj police stationThe first FIR has been registered on a complaint by Beckonganj Station House Officer Nawab Ahmad against nearly 500 people for rioting with deadly weaponsThe FIR names 36 people including MMA Jauhar Fans Association chief Hayat Zafar Hashmi and his associates Yousuf Mansoori and Amir Jawed AnsariAccording to the SHO Hashmi and his men had called for the closure of shops on Friday to protest the remarks made against the Prophet by a BJP spokesperson The rioters used deadly weapons hurled petrol bombs and took to the streets triggering panic in the area the FIR statedThe second FIR was lodged on a complaint by SubInspector Asif Raza Twenty people have been named in the FIR and 350 unidentified people have been bookedHashmi along with Yousuf Mansoori Amir Jawed Ansari and others converged at the Dada Miyan crossing and moved towards Yateemkhana forcing traders to close their shops which led to lawlessness the second FIR statedThe third FIR was registered on a complaint by Mukesh a resident of Chandeshwar Hata who alleged that hundreds of Muslims carrying sticks iron roads and deadly weapons attacked the members of the other community with an intent to kill themIt mentions a crowd of thousands of unidentified persons as accusedThe FIRs have been lodged under various IPC sections including 147 punishment for rioting 307 attempt to murder 332 voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty 336 act endangering life 353 criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty 427 mischief causing damage and 504 intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peaceThe violence broke out in Pared Nai Sadak and Yateemkhana areas of the city after Friday prayers when some people tried to force shopkeepers to down shutters over allegedly insulting remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma during a TV debate recently according to policeAt least 40 people including 20 police personnel were injured during the clashes the police said on Saturday Those who allegedly forced traders to shut shops clashed with police personnel who used batons to disperse the mobThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever