Bijnor: Seven accused have been arrested after three members of a Muslim family were killed in a clash in Bijnor on 16 September.
Circle Officer of the Bijnor City police station said that the clash was sparked between two groups after a group of Muslim girls were harassed by a few youth from the Jat community, while they were on their way to school.
“When the members of the minority community protested they were fired at. One died on the spot. Two others succumbed in the hospital,” the police official said. “We have brought the situation under control,” the official added.
The three deceased – reportedly identified as Ahsan, Sartaj and Anees – hail from the same family.
ADG law and order Daljeet Chaudhary – who rushed to the spot after learning about the incident – told Catch that seven people have been arrested and the situation is under control.
Javeed Ahmad, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police, told a news channel that the deaths occurred after ‘unprovoked firing’ from one side – an apparent reference to the Jats who opened fire on the members of a Muslim family.
“There was firing and stone pelting,” local police official said. The site of the clash, Paeda, is three kilometres from the city centre and falls under the Bijnor city police station.
“It’s a serious incident. And has taken a communal turn since both the groups belong to different religious communities,” a local police official said. He also added that an issue over irrigating the farm land had exacerbated matters between the two groups.
Western UP has seen multiple cases where alleged cases of eve-teasing have led to communal discord. In fact, it was an alleged case of eve-teasing and murders which sparked the spiral of communal turbulence which finally culminated in riots in Muzaffarnagar on 7 September, 2013.
More details are awaited.
Courtesy: Catch news