30 injured as communal clashes erupt in UP

In Rawatpur, the organisers of Ram Baraat refused to allow the Tazia procession on Saturday night.

Two places in Kanpur witnessed communal clashes which left nearly 30 persons including 5 policemen injured.

The situation in Param Purwa was partially under control whereas in Rawatpur, people of the two communities were reportedly firing at each other besides fighting a pitched battle with the cops.

Trouble began when a Tazia procession - commemorating the death of Imam Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of prophet Muhammad - took a different route instead of the permitted one.

It was supposed to take a U-turn from Jhandewala crossing but went straight through a pocket where another procession for Hindu goddess Durga's idol immersion was being taken.

Vehicles set on fire after a clash between two communities during a Muharram procession at Param Purwa in Kanpur on Sunday.

Tempers flared quickly and the two sides clashed, pelting stones at each other. Anti-social elements torched a police vehicle, ransacked a police outpost and shops and set afire five two-wheelers in the area.

Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob but were attacked with stones and bricks, leaving them injured.

In Rawatpur, the organisers of Ram Baraat refused to allow the Tazia procession on Saturday night.

As the issue was being resolved on Sunday morning, bricks were thrown from a temple on police teams involved in negotiations. Police then resorted to baton charge on the crowd.

OneIndia News