AMU violence: Two arrested for breaching peace, posting objectionable material on social media

Aligarh: Two youths wanted in connection with the violence in the Aligarh Muslim University on 2 May have been arrested by the police for allegedly trying to breach peace and posting inflammatory material on social media.

Amit Goswami and Yogesh Varshney, former city president of Hindu Yuva Vahini, were arrested late Sunday and sent to jail, police said.

According to the SO, Civil Lines, Javed Khan, they were arrested under sections 147 (rioting), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion) of IPC.

According to the police, after the AMU campus violence, the duo had allegedly posted objectionable material on social media which had led to temporary suspension of internet service in the city.

Meanwhile, security arrangements in the city have been further tightened since Sunday evening after some youths took out a procession on motorcycles in sensitive areas and later made an abortive attempt to take out a procession from the Varshney Degree College to vent their anger against the AMU for displaying a picture of Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

IG, Aligarh Zone, Dr Sanjeev Gupta told PTI that two youths arrested on Sunday were also active in the attempts to disturb peace in the old city.

Gupta said precautionary measures have been enforced and police patrolling in all sensitive areas intensified.

Sunday afternoon, Shahar Mufti and Maulana Khalid Hameed had informed police that the presence of such slogan-shouting youths could push the city to an edge if the situation is not controlled immediately.

Former Congress MP Chaudhary Bijendra Singh has urged district authorities to take preventive action against anyone who tries to breach the peace of the city.

He has also asked the district magistrate to immediately institute an inquiry into yesterday’s incident in which some youths pasted Jinnah’s photographs in the toilets at Dharam Samaj Degree College.

He has also asked district magistrate as to how a portrait belonging to AMU founder, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, which was installed in the hall of PWD guest house in Khair, was allegedly removed and replaced by a portrait of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It is reported that the PWD guest house at Khair had portraits of prominent historical personalities belonging to Aligarh city.