Students Islamic Movement of India fanned violence in Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi, Dec 23: The Uttar Pradesh government has blamed outsiders for the violence that erupted during the protests against the amended citizenship law.

Even as authorities detained a Trinamool Congress delegation, the government said that outfits such as the SIMI were behind the violence.

The government said that six persons hailing from Malda in West Bengal having links with radical Islamic groups have been arrested. These persons have a connection with the Students Islamic Movement of India, deputy chief minister, Dinesh Sharma said.

For the Students Islamic Movement of India, the protests around the new citizenship law have come as a blessing in disguise. The Intelligence Bureau has said that several members of the SIMI have entered Delhi in a bid to fuel further violence and then recruit in the name of persecution.

During the protests at the Jamia Millia and Seelampur, the police had found that there were several hidden mobs, which came out and incited the violence. IB sources tell OneIndia that members of the SIMI could have infiltrated into Delhi from UP and the other neighbouring states.

The SIMI undertook a similar campaign in the early 2000s. All its recruitment material were around the demolition of the Godhra riots and the Babri Masjid demolition. The SIMI which has been looking to re-group for long after being beaten down by the agencies has been scouting for major issues. Intelligence Bureau sources also say that this terror group will look to infiltrate into students unions, create trouble and also rope in students into its fold.

It is not just the SIMI, but naxalites too have found to be part of this agitation. Recently the National Investigation Agency booked an activist in Assam for alleged links with the naxalites. A case was registered against Akhil Gogoi, whose Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti has been at the forefront of the agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Gogoi was arrested for alleged links with naxalites last week at Johrat.

The NIA in its FIR says that Gogoi and several others through their visible representation and spoken words have abetted, incited hatred and caused disaffection towards the government.

Further, it says that Gogoi and others used the passage of the CAB in Parliament as an opportunity to promote enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, residence, language. Further, Gogoi has been accused of committing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony, using visible representations and spoken words, thus endangering the security and sovereignty of the state. These acts are prejudicial to national integration, the NIA also said.

The FIR also alleges that Gogoi's KMSS was merged with the CPI (Maoist). Further it is also alleged that Gogoi had arranged meetings between the naxals and overground workers in 2009. The FIR also names Dhirjya Konwar, Bittu Sonowal and Manas Konwar and accuses them of being part of the Maoist conspiracy.

On the other hand, the police had told people to remove objectionable content from social media platforms. There are around 60 accounts that have been identified and these persons have been told to take down objectionable content immediately.

It may be recalled that a hidden mob had swelled during the riots that took place at Seelampur on December 18. Some people were supposed to stage a protest against the amended Citizenship Act at Jafrabad at around 2 pm but people gathered between 1 pm and 1.15 pm at Seelampur point and were stopped by police, they said.

A hidden mob, without any prior information, marched to Seelampur point. It swelled to 4,000-5,000 people. They were peaceful for about 30 minutes. But after that they indulged in minor clashes," an official said.

The situation was brought under control soon and has improved, they said.
In the afternoon, angry protesters demanding to scrap of the amended citizenship law torched several motorbikes, pelted stones at police personnel and damaged buses and a police booth in the Northeast Delhi area.