One person died in a communal clash which erupted in Naseerpur village late on Monday night. Over a dozen were injured.
According to senior police officials of Muzaffarnagar, the situation in the village on Tuesday was “peaceful and in control.” Police have been deployed heavily in the village which falls in Nai Mandi police station.
This is second incident of violence in the last two days as a dozen people were injured in a clash between cops and villagers in Sherpur village on Friday.
Over 250 people were booked for violence which was triggered allegedly due to the beating of locals by policemen. Agitated villagers attacked policemen and set a police vehicle on fire.
According to the police, Iqbal, a resident of Naseerpur village, was going to pray in the local mosque on Monday noon when he engaged in a petty fight with Brajpal over an overflowing drain. Before it could snowball, the row was sorted out in a meeting of the village elders who persuaded them to patch up.
At loggerheads again
But by evening the two sides were again at loggerheads. The fight soon turned violent and the groups clashed with arms and stones. Brajpal and his son, Akash, were injured in the firing. Later, Akash succumbed to injuries on his way to the hospital while Brajpal’s situation is said to be critical.
After the death of Akash, many Muslim families on Tuesday locked their houses and fled to nearby villages due to fear of retaliation.
Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kumar Singh, however, said the police were trying to provide security and ensure nobody fled in fear.
According to him the entire village has been turned into a fortress due to huge deployment of security forces.
Deputy Inspector General (Saharanpur range) K.S. Emmanuel visited the village with the Senior Superintendent of Police, Muzaffarnagar, Anant Dev Tiwari in the morning and took stock of the situation.
Hours after they left violence erupted when a mob barged inside the house of local resident Shehzad and set it on fire. This again led to tension, despite huge deployment of PAC, RAF and police forces
The family and friends of Akash initially refused to cremate him and relented only after the district administration announced ₹5 lakh as compensation to the kin of the deceased.
Meanwhile police have registered a case of murder, rioting against two hundred people. Over a dozen people have been arrested in the case.
