Gadkari sending team to riot-hit Bareilly

BAREILLY - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Gadkari is sending a three-member team to riot-hit Bareilly to take note of the prevailing situation.

Sources said the team that is headed by noted animal-rights activist and Aonla MP Maneka Gandhi might be stopped from entering the city’s riot-hit areas.

Bareilly has been tense for several days following the release of a cleric, who was arrested on charges of inciting clashes. Mobs torched about 20 shops in the old Bareilly area on Saturday though curfew was in force in most parts of the city affected by communal violence. The authorities have rushed additional forces to the city.

The Uttar Pradesh Government has ordered the closure of all educational institutions there, and provided the police with a helicopter to monitor trouble-hit areas. Uttar Pradesh Police had last Monday (March taken into its custody Maulana Khan, the leader of Ittehad-e-Millat Conference. He was later released on Thursday (March 11) evening.

The right-wing Hindu outfit Bajrang Dal criticising his release soon turned into action following which there was a violent backlash and curfew was imposed in the areas of the city. (ANI)