Police have arrested eight persons, including local cleric and chief of Ittehad-e-Millat Council Tauqeer Raza Khan, whose call for a protest supporting the ‘I love Muhammad’ campaign led to a violent clash between demonstrators and police after Friday prayers in Bareilly, officials said on Saturday
A local court on Saturday sent Raza and the seven “mischievous elements” to 14-day judicial custody for allegedly masterminding the violent clash, police said.
District Magistrate Avinash Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Anurag Arya announced the arrests at a joint press conference on Saturday.
“The main conspirator of the Bareilly unrest, Maulana Tauqeer Raza, along with seven mischievous elements, have been arrested, produced in court, and sent to 14-day judicial custody,” DM Singh said.
The development followed a day of tension in Bareilly where a large crowd carrying ‘I Love Muhammad’ posters clashed with police outside a mosque in the Kotwali area after Friday prayers.
The crowd was reportedly angry over the last-minute cancellation of a proposed demonstration called by Raza, who claimed the authorities denied permission for it.
Raza has been accused of using inflammatory speeches to incite the violence on Friday. According to the SSP, a crowd of youth took to the streets on Raza’s provocation, creating an atmosphere of “anarchy” from Khaleel Tiraha up to the Islamia ground.
The seven other accused have been identified as Sarfaraz, Manifuddin, Azeem Ahmed, Mohammed Sharif, Mohammed Aamir, Rehan and Mohammad Sarfaraz, police said.
Police have also detained 36 persons for questioning in connection with Friday’s violence after identifying them through video footage of the incident.
According to the SSP, Raza was under surveillance since Friday, despite his attempts to “mislead” the authorities. The cleric reportedly spent Friday night at the house of Farhat, an Ittehad-e-Millat Council leader and friend, though his supporters were told that he had left for Delhi, the officer said
