Communal clashes rock U.P. ahead of VHP meet

Tension in parts of Mirzapur, Kanpur

Policemen conduct a march in Mirzapur on November 21, 2018 in a street where a clash broke out between two groups the previous night during a Vishwa Hindu Parishad's procession.

The festival of Milad-un-Nabi on Wednesday was marked by communal clashes in two districts of Uttar Pradesh, Mirzapur and Kanpur, as tension soared in these parts of the state ahead of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s meeting in Ayodhya for construction of a Ram temple.

Prohibitory orders have been imposed in Mirzapur for over 24 hours. No serious injuries were, however, reported.

In Mirzapur, trouble started on Tuesday as members of two communities engaged in stone-pelting after a minor dispute during a Ram-Janaki bike yatra taken out by the VHP through minority-populated areas.

Mirzapur District Magistrate Anurag Patel told

The Hindu that the VHP did not have permission to hold the bike rally. The local SHO and two constables had been suspended for negligence, he said. No action has been taken against the VHP activists.

Additional SP Mirzapur Prakash Swaroop Pandey said five persons were arrested on the complaint of the VHP.

Clashes were reported in Kanpur’s Kalyanpur area too. About four people reportedly received minor injuries after two communities clashed with each other during a procession on the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad.

Kanpur SSP Anant Deo said the incident took place after members of a community tried to take out aprocession through a lane, leading to objection by another community.

“The matter was resolved by the police but some miscreants threw stones from their homes,” said Mr. Deo.