Kanpur Violence: Over 800 Booked, 24 Arrested. UP Police Look For PFI Link

Kanpur Violence: Kanpur Police Commissioner V S Meena said the accused will be booked under the National Security Act and the Gangster Act.

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Police has booked around 800 people in connection with the rioting and violence that broke out in Kanpur on Friday, said the officials on Saturday adding that 24 people have been arrested while 12 have been detained, reported news agency PTI. 

The police are also looking into possible connections of groups like Popular Front of India with the case. 

Kanpur Police Commissioner V S Meena said the accused will be booked under the National Security Act and the Gangster Act while the possible role of groups like Popular Front of India (PFI) and others is being looked into.

Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that properties of those involved in the violence will be seized or demolished.

"We have identified 36 people who were involved in the violence with help of CCTV footage and other video recordings of the incidents. A total of 24 people have been arrested so far of which 18 were held on Friday," the Kanpur police commissioner said.

Among people who have been arrested include Hayat Zafar Hashmi, the chief of Maulana Mohammed Ali (MMA) Jauhar Fans Association which is a local social group and is being suspected to be the mastermind behind the violence. He was arrested along with three others from the Hazratganj area of Lucknow.

"The arrested accused will be produced in court and we will seek 14 days of police remand to interrogate them about the conspiracy behind the incident," the officer said.

"We are probing the incident from various angles and looking into the involvement of groups like PFI and others. Anyone who is found guilty will not be spared." Meena said the police are also looking into lapses on the part of the force in preventing the violence.

On Friday after the prayers, violence had brokenn out in Pared, Nai Sadak and Yateemkhana areas of the city when some people tried to force shopkeepers to down shutters over allegedly insulting remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma during a TV debate recently, according to police.

At least 40 people, including 20 police personnel, were injured during the clashes, the police said on Saturday. Those who allegedly forced traders to shut shops clashed with police personnel who used batons to disperse the mob.