Bahraich: As many as 1,000 unidentified people from the Muslim community were booked for raising communal slogans after two school children got involved in a heated exchange of offensive comments in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich. They had also blocked a road in Nanpara area, causing local residents and shutting shops. Additional police personnel were deployed to maintain law and order.
The police took a Class 9 student into custody on October 8, a day after the screenshots of his Instagram chat with another student surfaced online and triggered tensions, news agency PTI said, citing police officials.
The students allegedly made objectionable remarks against each other's religions. As the posts went viral, a massive crowd gathered outside the boy's home in the Nanpara area on October 7 night. People were engaged in communal sloganeering and were also demanding for the child's arrest.
The Bahraich Police on Friday stated that an FIR was filed at the Nanpara Kotwali under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) over the communal sloganeering. The FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint by Raja Bazaar police outpost in-charge, Circle Officer (Nanpara) Pradyumna Singh said.
The individuals have been charged under sections 189(2) [unlawful assembly], 126(2) [blocking roads], 132 [obstructing government work], 285 [causing public danger], 352 [insult and provocation], 353(3) [spreading misleading rumours related to religion], and Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, Singh said.
"The trouble started on October 7, when two schoolchildren made offensive remarks about each other's religion on Instagram. Despite police action against the accused minor, members of the Muslim community gathered in large numbers near the Community Health Centre in Nanpara, blocking the main road and disrupting normal life," according to the FIR accessed by PTI.
The FIR also mentioned that communal slogans raised by the Muslim community triggered panic in the area, forcing traders to shut down their shops. When the police tried to clear the road, the crowd resisted and raised slogans against them. Following this, additional police forces from nearby police stations were deployed in Matera and Rupaidiha to control the situation.
The police also videographed the entire incident and are using the footage to identify those responsible for inciting unrest, the FIR said.
Meanwhile, in a separate action, one Shoaib was arrested for allegedly circulated the accused minor's photo on social media in a bid to further trigger tension, the police told PTI. He was held and booked under charges of disturbing public peace.
On October 8, SP Vrinda Shukla assured that strict action was being taken against those trying to disrupt public order in the area. She also said legal proceedings would be initiated based on video evidence, and those found inciting violence would be held accountable.
District Magistrate Monika Rani and SP Shukla held meetings with community leaders on October 8, calling for restraint and urging calm. They also warned against misuse of social media, saying that provocative posts could lead to serious consequences, especially in Bahraich, which is a sensitive area near international border with Nepal.