Festivities turn sour in UP, J'khand

Festivities turned sour in parts of northern India, with at least one death each being reported from Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand in the ensuing unrest.

At least one person was killed and several others, including policemen, were injured as violence rocked several towns in UP during immersion of idols of Goddess Durga and “Tazia” processions over the past few days.

Tension prevailed in Kanpur, Banda, Kannauj, Fatehpur, Sant Kabir Nagar and Ambedkar Nagar in the state after incidents of stone-pelting and firing during the immersion and Muharram processions on Thursday and Friday, said police sources in Lucknow on Saturday.

Curfew was imposed in Kannauj, the Lok Sabha constituency of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav, after communal violence on Thursday left one person dead and several others injured. Tension still prevails in the town.

The situation was tense in Kanpur as well, with some posters carrying pictures of Goddess Durga reportedly being torn in the Darshanpurwa locality on Friday evening. A large mob later indulged in heavy stone-pelting and blocked the route designated for taking out the “Tazia” processions, said sources.

Meanwhile, one person was killed and at least nine were injured in violence between two groups during a Muharram procession in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district on Saturday, which led to the police firing 70 rounds in the air to control the situation.

North Chotanagpur Division DIG Upendra Kumar, confirming the death, said trouble began a when group of about 100 people standing on the road opposite the ground at Charowa Das, on the Hazaribagh-Katkumsandi Road, pelted stones at an over-10,000-strong gathering.

The clashing sides indulged in throwing brickbats and then fired at each other, forcing the police to first lathicharge and then use tear gas.