West UP erupts again, 13 cops injured

The fragile peace in west Uttar Pradesh was disturbed again on Sunday as violence broke out in Kheda village of Meerut. Police lathicharged and fired in the air as supporters of UP BJP MLA from Sardhana (Meerut) Sangeet Som, arrested for his alleged role in last month’s Muzaffarnagar riots, clashed with security forces while defying the ban on a proposed panchayat.

Official sources here confirmed 13 policemen and six RAF jawans were among those injured, while nine CRPF vehicles and two police cars were set on fire. Home secretary Kamal Saxena told reporters that the Army had not been called out in Meerut as reported in a section of the media. He said the police had used rubber bullets and tear gas shells and fired in the air to dispel the protesters who had assembled in the village despite the panchayat being banned.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has said certain elements were out to disturb the peace in west UP deliberately. Renowned Sunni cleric Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali has said the Meerut incident was part of a conspiracy of some officials who were not co-operating with the state government.

According to reports, over 5,000 people had assembled for the panchayat to protest against the BJP MLA’s arrest and the imposition of the stringent National Security Act against him. Som is accused of allegedly making an inflammatory speech and distributing CDs with provocative material, leading to the Muzaffarnagar riots. The MLA has denied charges that he uploaded a fake video or distributed its CDs that played a crucial role in sparking off the Muzaffarnagar communal riots.

The Uttar Pradesh Government has constituted a one-member judicial commission to probe the Muzaffarnagar violence, which has claimed 49 lives.

Earlier, violence had erupted in Muzaffarnagar on September 7, when members of a community returning from a panchayat clashed with members of another community.