Kasganj Communal Violence: UP Dy CM promises to take action against Bareilly DM for Facebook post

Bareilly DM Raghvendra Vikram Singh’s Facebook post cause quite a stir amid a time of communal tension in Kasganj town. Reacting to the incident, UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya promised to take cognizance and said that action would be initiated if the officer was found guilty, reported several media outlets.

Bareilly District Magistrate Raghvendra Vikram Singh created a stir on social media with his take on Kasganj communal violence. On January 28, Singh posted a long message on his Facebook page that it has become a 'trend' to take a procession into a Muslim locality and raise anti-Pakistan slogans.

His Facebook post read: “Ajab riwaz ban gaya hai. Muslim mohallo main julus le jao aur Pakistan murdabad ke nare lagao. Kyun bhai woh Pakistani hain kya? Yehi yahan Bareilly mein Khailam mein hua tha. Fir patharav hua, mukadme likhe gaye (A strange tradition has been formed. To take a procession into Muslim-dominated localities and raise 'death to Pakistan' slogans. Why, are they (Muslims) Pakistanis? The same thing had happened in Bareilly's Khailam. Then stones were pelted, FIRs lodged.”

He was referring to an incident from July last year, when some men participating in Kanwar Yatra insisted on taking their procession through Muslim-dominated Khailam village. Clashes broke out and 15 ITBP jawans and two dozen kanwariyas were injured at that time.

Although Singh did not mention Kasganj, the post was believed to be a take on the violence, which broke soon after a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ by right-wing groups reportedly created a scuffle in a Muslim-dominated locality on the Republic Day.

In another post on Facebook, Singh asked why slogans are never raised against 'bigger enemy' China.

He said: "Cheen to bada dushman hai, Tiranga lekar Cheen murdabad kyon nahin? (China is a bigger enemy to us. Why isn't the tricolour being waved and anti-China slogans shouted)?"

Talking to the Times of India, Singh said he was hurt and angry at what was happening "in the name of nationalism."

"Such fringe groups are coming up in every part of the state, taking the same ugly route to instigate people of the minority community by forcefully entering their locality in the name of nationalism. These people don't care about the fabric of our mixed culture and brotherhood," he said.