Situation remained tense in the riot-struck area in Western Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur city when the curfew was lifted for six hours on Thursday afternoon.
The Peace Committee held a march in the city. Locals reported that some miscreants took it as an opportunity to create panic. Fearing an untoward incident, shopkeepers in the vicinity of the Qutub Sher police station area shut their shops even when the curfew was lifted.
Saharanpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajesh Pandey said: “A mob gathered on the Gurdwara Road [in the Qutub Sher police station area] when the peace march proceeded on the route. Locals probably misinterpreted the situation and shopkeepers started closing their shops thinking that the mob was a result of another clash between members of different religious communities.”
Mr. Pandey said that the panic, however, did not lead to any untoward incident when the curfew was lifted between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
