Paramilitary forces, drones keep vigil in UP for Friday prayers

In Uttar Pradesh, Internet services that were resumed after nearly a week, were suspended again in Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli. In Agra, the services will remain suspended till Friday evening.

Security forces deployed in view of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, in old Lucknow on December 20, 2019.

Security was mounted and patrolling intensified in sensitive areas across Uttar Pradesh to ensure peace during Friday prayers in view of widespread violence by those protesting against the amended Citizenship Act which has so far claimed 19 lives.

3,500 personnel of central paramilitary forces and 12,000 jawans of the UP provincial armed constabulary (PAC) are on the job to maintain peace, UP DGP OP Singh said.

As a precautionary measure, Internet services that were resumed after nearly a week, were suspended again in Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli. In Agra, the services will remain suspended till Friday evening, a senior police official said.

Internet services will be suspended in 21 of the 75 districts, the DGP said.

To avoid a repeat of last Friday’s violence in Gorakhpur, police staged flag march in sensitive areas and held a meeting with peace committees in all circle and police station areas.

Paramilitary force personnel and state police force have been deployed, and drone cameras are being used to ensure security on Friday, Gorakhpur District Magistrate Vijyendra Pandiyan said.

Meanwhile, the process to confiscate the property of those involved in damaging public assets during the protests gained momentum as 372 people were served notices in different districts.

A Home Department spokesperson on Thursday put the death toll at 19 in the violence, which left 288 policemen injured, including 61 who received firearm injury. He said 327 FIRs have been registered and 5,558 preventive arrests made.