15 injured in Uttar Pradesh violence

LUCKNOW - At least 15 people, including a senior police officer, were injured Friday in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district when members of a community clashed with police to protest the release of a Muslim cleric, authorities said.

The community members indulged in vandalism and protested against the release of Maulana Tauquir Raza Khan, president of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council, who was arrested for his alleged role in last week’s communal violence in Bareilly, about 250 km from here. Khan was released Thursday.

After unruly people protested in areas of Subhashnagar police station, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas cannisters to control them. Curfew was later imposed in those areas.

“The situation is still tense, but under control. For vandalism and violent protests, we have arrested 10 people. Security has been beefed up in parts of Bareilly in the wake of the fresh violence,” Additional Director General (Law and Order) Brij Lal told reporters here.

“In today’s violence, some people, including superintendent of police (city) Rakesh Jolly, were injured. We have learnt that no one was seriously injured in the violence,” he added.

Khan gave a “rabble rousing speech” that led to communal violence in parts of Bareilly last week.

A minor communal clash followed by sporadic arson March 2 afternoon led the administration to clamp curfew in several parts of Bareilly city.

Trouble sparked off over the passage of a Barawafat procession. What started with exchange of hot words between members of rival communities, almost instantly snowballed into a violent clash as members of a particular community went on an arson spree, burning down a few shops.