UP Police beefs up security for Friday prayers

Lucknow, June 10

The Uttar Pradesh Police have issued an alert to all district police chiefs to intensify security around mosques for Friday prayers.

The directive comes after the violence in Kanpur on June 3.

According to the official spokesman, Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been imposed in Kanpur and Lucknow to prevent public gathering on roads and public places.

Additional Director General (ADG) of Police, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar said police deployment has been done strategically at sensitive and mixed population localities and places of worship across different districts.

The Police officials are in touch with clerics and other group leaders for maintaining peace and communal harmony, he added.

The ADG said special deployment has been made in sensitive districts, including Firozabad, Shamli, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Agra, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, and Lucknow.

He added that the police personnel carried out a riot control drill in some districts, including Firozabad.

Kumar said there was extra alertness in Ayodhya, taking note of the rumours of a 'Bharat Bandh' appeal on June 10 circulated on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

The ADG said 12 companies of provincial armed constabulary (PAC) are already camping in Kanpur while a few companies have been sent to sensitive districts.

In Kanpur, tight security arrangements were in place with the deployment of 12 companies of the PAC, three additional IPS officers and two companies of the Rapid Action Force.

The Police have constituted a committee to look into cases of alleged false arrests after the June 3 violence in Kanpur.

The committee headed by Joint Commissioner of Police, Anand Prakash Tiwari has three other members -- DCPs Pramod Kumar, BBTGS Murthy and ACP Mohd Akmal Khan.

In the last four days, the police arrested 54 people and were making efforts to establish the identity of at least 600 others allegedly involved in the Kanpur clashes.

A Special Investigation Team had also been formed to examine video and CCTV footages of the violence.

Kanpur Shahar Qazi, Saqib Adeeb Misbahi has appealed to the people saying, "Communal harmony and peace are paramount. If the community members have any grievances, they should come to me and I would take it up with the authorities."

The Sunni Ulema Council has also appealed to the Muslims to go home straight away after the Friday prayers and cross-check information in case of any rumours.

"A lot of wrong information is in circulation, do not believe until you have cross-checked it," said Haji Salees, Convener of the Council.

In Lucknow, leaders of some Hindu right-wing groups were placed under house arrest as a precautionary measure.