Kasganj violence aftermath: SP transferred, magisterial probe ordered as town remains tense

Following violence between two communities in Kasganj, superintendent of police Sunil Kumar Singh has been transferred to Meerut and a magisterial probe has been ordered to investigate the clashes, media reports said. [caption id=“attachment_4325603” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  More than 112 persons were arrested while Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel intensified vigil in Kasganj. PTI[/caption] According to ANI, Piyush Srivastava will be the new Kasganj SP after this transfer. India Today reports that the Kasganj police has ordered a magisterial probe to scrutinise whether an administrative lapse was responsible for the escalation of violence in the strife-torn city. The report adds that an SIT team has also been formed to analyse the sequence of events that lead to the violence. At least three shops, two buses and a car were torched after a youth, Chandan Gupta, was killed in clashes following stone-pelting by a mob on a motorcycle rally which was taken out to celebrate Republic Day. Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik called the communal clashes a “blot” on the state and asked the government to initiate measures to ensure such incidents did not recur. So far, as many as 112 people have also been arrested and security forces personnel have intensified vigil in Kasganj city in Uttar Pradesh. The situation in the area remained tense but peaceful on Monday, two days after clashes between two communities claimed Gupta’s life. According to India Today, a bullet has been recovered from Gupta’s body and has been sent to Agra for a ballistics report. CCTV footage has also been taken by the police for their probe into the matter. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC also continue to be in place in the restive area. The Uttar Pradesh police have deployed drone cameras for aerial surveillance in the area as well. Police also state that they are monitoring social media to avoid any plans devised to cause fresh violence. They recently slammed rumours of another death that occurred during the clashes on 26 January.

Contrary to rumours spread on social media, Rahul Upadhyay is alive. We have arrested 4 people for spreading false rumours : Sanjeev Gupta, IG Aligarh Range #KasganjClashes pic.twitter.com/dP6rxkfzDt

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 29, 2018

“Contrary to rumours spread on social media, Rahul Upadhyay is alive. We have arrested four people for spreading false rumours,” Sanjeev Gupta, Inspector-General, Aligarh Range said to ANI.

Mother of #ChandanGupta says they have refused monetary compensation from state govt, demands 'Shaheed' status for her son.#KasganjClashes pic.twitter.com/zH2cGNniav

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 29, 2018

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The kin of Chandan Gupta, who was killed in the violence, has refused monetary compensation from state government. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for Gupta’s parents on Sunday. While declining this compensation, Gupta’s mother also demanded that her son should be given ‘shaheed’ status. The Yogi Adityanath-led government has stressed that the guilty would not be spared. After explosives were found during house-to-house searches, the state police chief said the stringent National Security Act (NSA) would be invoked against the culprits. Under the NSA, a person can be detained without bail or trial and authorities need not disclose grounds of detention if they believe the detainee can act in a way that poses a threat to the security of the state/country or the maintenance of public order. Meanwhile, Congress Rajya Sabha member Pramod Tiwari has demanded a high-level probe by sitting high court judge into this matter. “It’s certainly a failure of the state government. There should be a high-level probe by a sitting high court judge in this matter,” Tiwari said. With inputs from agencies