Uttar Pradesh district tense after Muharram clashes

A group of Muslims, who were taking out a mourning procession on Monday evening on the occasion of Muharram, had an altercation with Hindus of the Naibazar area in Bhadohi, some 250 km from here. Later, the altercation snowballed into a clash in which members of both groups threw stones at each other and vandalised property, a police official said.

“The Muslims alleged that some Hindus were not letting them take out the procession on the scheduled route," Deputy Superintendent of Police Param Hans told reporters in Bhadohi.

“After carrying out the burial ritual, the Muslims returned to the same area and again had heated arguments with Hindus of the locality, which is dominated by members of the  Yadav community. Later, at around 11.30 p.m., members of both sides started stone pelting," he added.

Police said no one was seriously injured in the incident. “The situation is still tense but under control. Heavy security deployment has been made in the district to prevent any untoward incident," Param Hans said. Police are yet to make any arrest in connection with the clashes.