News Analysis India

Tag: Kanpur violence

  • Builder Haji Wasi, accused of funding June 3 Kanpur violence, held in Lucknow

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Haji Wasi, a prominent builder accused of funding the Kanpur violence that broke out on June 3 against the controversial statement of suspended BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma over Prophet Mohammad was arrested in state capital Lucknow on late Monday night, said Joint commissioner of Kanpur police, Anand Prakash Tiwari .

    According to police official, Haji Wasi was the main financer of Zafar Hayat Hashmi, the alleged mastermind of the Kanpur violence. His son Rahman was arrested two days ago. Zafar Hayat Hashmi along with Mukhtar Baba, owner of famous Baba Biryani, is already in police custody. Haji Wasi’s name had cropped up after the interrogation of Zafar Hayat Hashmi.

    As per the Kanpur Police official, Wasi was arrested near Amausi airport from where he was about to take a flight late on Monday night. Last week , the Kanpur police authorities had procured a non-bailable warrant against Wasi from the court. Wasi was named in three FIRs by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the Kanpur violence.

    As per the Kanpur police officials, after the violence, Wasi had fled to Delhi from where he came down to Lucknow with all the documents to escape to abroad ready. He was about to take a flight on Monday night.

    Notably, huge violent protests had broken out after Friday Namaz against Nupur Sharma’s statement at Nai Sadak locality of Kanpur engulfing other Muslim dominated localities as well on June 3. The Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up to probe into the violence, had identified 40 persons accused of spreading hatred. Their posters were put up at the city crossings. Moreover, 55 persons were named and around 1000 unidentified trouble makers were booked by the Kanpur police. Of those booked for violence, around 60 have so far been arrested and sent to jail.

    The Kanpur Development Authority (KDA) had also demolished one of his buildings in Swaroop Nagar and seized nine others.

    Meanwhile, as per the Kanpur police, just ahead of June 3 violence in Kanpur, the trouble makers were connected through an active WhatsApp group which had numbers from Iran, Pakistan and Oman. The Cyber cell of UP police has been entrusted to track those numbers and collect details about them.

  • Kanpur clashes: ED seeks details of three persons held for funding main accused

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Monday,  approached Kanpur police seeking details of the three persons arrested in connection with violent protests in Kanpur on June 3 and their alleged link Popular Front of India (PFI).

    ED will scan their financial transactions to ascertain if there was any money-laundering by the three namely —  Saifullah, Mohammad Naseem and Mohammad Umar.

    It may be recalled that Kanpur had witness a communal flare-up in different localities when members of minority community took to streets to protest after Friday prayers on June 3 against the statement of Nupur Sharma, ex-BJP spokesperson, over Prophet Mohammad.

    Around a dozen persons were injured during the protests which took a violent turn as the protestors started hurling stones, crude bombs on common people while trying to force the shopkeepers to down shutters in Nai Sadak and Yateemkhana areas of the city after Friday prayers.

    The three persons allegedly linked with PFI came under the ED scanner after Kanpur police got the leads that they had funded the prime accused of Kanpur flare-up, Hayat Zafar Hashmi for mobilizing the crowd and staging the protest.

    “The three including Saifullah, Mohammad Naseem and Mohammad Umar, having affiliation to PFI, were also identified during violence against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019. They were arrested then also,” said Vijay Singh Meena, Kanpur police commissioner.

    As per ED sources, the transactions of the three arrested accused and also Hayat Zafar Hashmi would be scanned after getting their details and of the case from the Kanpur police.

    Last year, ED in its charge-sheet had said that Popular Front of India (PFI) men got finances from abroad to help their alleged bid to disturb communal harmony in Hathras after alleged gang rape of a minor girl which led to her death in September, 2020.

  • ‘Pause, take a critical look at what you have done’: EGI to news channels on Kanpur violence

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Noting that the irresponsible conduct of some news channels has made the national discourse coarse and the gap between communities unbridgeable, the Editors Guild of India (EGI) on Wednesday asked them to pause and take a critical look at what they have done just to increase viewership and profit during the Kanpur violence.

    It also called for stricter vigilance by broadcasters and journalist bodies, noting that the recent incident of violence in Kanpur that caused “unnecessary embarrassment” to the country could have been avoided if those news channels had been mindful of the nation’s constitutional commitment to secularism, as well as journalistic ethics and guidelines of the Press Council of India.

    Violence had erupted in parts of Kanpur after Friday prayers as members of two communities indulged in brick-batting and hurled bombs over attempts to shut shops in protest against remarks against Prophet Mohammad by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma during a TV debate.

    “The Editors Guild of India is disturbed by the irresponsible conduct of some national news channels for deliberately creating circumstances that target vulnerable communities by spewing hatred towards them and their beliefs,” the Editors’ body said in a statement.

    Expectedly, there was a riot in Kanpur accompanied by an “unprecedented trenchant reaction” from many countries that were offended by the remarks of the ruling party spokespersons, it said, adding that in their angry statements they wondered about India’s commitment to human rights and freedom of religion.

    “The incident that caused unnecessary embarrassment to the country could have been avoided if some of the TV outlets had been mindful of the nation’s constitutional commitment to secularism, as well as the journalistic ethics and guidelines that the Press Council of India has issued to handle a volatile communal situation,” the EGI said.

    Instead, some of these channels prompted by the desire to increase viewership and profit were seemingly inspired by the values of Radio Rwanda whose incendiary broadcast caused a genocide in the African nation, it added.

    “The EGI demands that these channels pause and take a critical look at what they have done by giving legitimacy to divisive and toxic voices that has made the national discourse coarse and the gap between communities unbridgeable,” the Editors’ body said.

    “The EGI also demands stricter vigilance by broadcaster and journalist bodies to prevent a recurrence of this from taking place,” it added.

    The media is in place to strengthen the Constitution and the law, and not break it through sheer irresponsibility and absence of accountability, the EGI said.

  • Kanpur violence: Five more held, SIT set up to probe

    “We will investigate if they had any links with the PFI (Popular Front of India), which had called for a closure (of shops) in Manipur and West Bengal on the same day,” Kanpur Police Commissioner said

  • Kanpur violence: 3 FIRs registered, 500 booked as cops stay alert 

    By PTI

    KANPUR: The Uttar Pradesh Police Saturday booked 500 people for rioting and violence in Kanpur that left 40 injured, official said, as an uneasy calm prevailed in the affected areas this morning.

    Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and order) Anand Prakash Tiwari said 18 people have been arrested so far over the Friday incident, and some others are detained for questioning.

    ALSO READ | Kanpur violence: Mayawati asks UP government to take action by ‘rising above religion, caste’

    “The area is peaceful and we are maintaining a round-the-clock vigil,” he said, adding some suspects were detained overnight by different police teams.

    Three FIRs over rioting and violence have been lodged against over 500 people, Tiwari said.

    READ MORE: Yogi directs strict action as clashes erupt in Kanpur

    The violence broke out in Pared, Nai Sadak and Yateemkhana areas of the city after Friday namaz when some people tried to force shopkeepers to down shutters over allegedly insulting remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma during a TV debate recently, a senior police official had said Friday.

    At least 40 people including 20 police personnel were injured during the clashes, police said on Saturday.

    Those who allegedly forced traders to shut shops clashed with police personnel who used batons to disperse the mob.

    Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar has warned that those involved will be booked under the stringent Gangsters Act and their properties seized or demolished. 

  • Kanpur violence: Mayawati asks UP government to take action by ‘rising above religion, caste’ 

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati Saturday attacked the state government over the violence and stone-pelting in Kanpur, asking the BJP dispensation to take action against the culprits “by rising above religion, caste and party politics”.

    Her statement came after violence broke out in Kanpur on Friday, a day when President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended a function at the president’s ancestral village in Kanpur Dehat.

    READ MORE: Yogi directs strict action as clashes erupt in Kanpur

    Bombs were hurled and gunshots fired during the violence as members of a group attempted to shut shops over alleged insulting remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma during a television debate recently, a senior police official said.

    In a tweet Saturday, Mayawati said, “Riots and violence that erupted in Kanpur during the visit of the president and the prime minister to Uttar Pradesh is very sad, unfortunate and worrying and also a sign of the failure of the police intelligence.

    ALSO READ | 18 arrested in Kanpur stone pelting incident: Police

    “The government has to understand that in the absence of law and order, how investment and development are possible in the state?” she said.

    She said the government should take strict legal action against the culprits “by rising above religion, caste and party politics and conduct an independent and impartial high-level inquiry”.

    She also appealed to people to avoid provocative speeches and maintain law and order, and peace.

    According to senior police officials, the situation in Kanpur is under control on Saturday morning, but heavy police force has been deployed in the violence-hit areas.

    Police have initiated investigation and arrested at least 18 people.

  • Clashes in Kanpur over ‘insult’ to Prophet Mohammed during TV debate

    By PTI

    KANPUR: Violence erupted in parts of Kanpur after Friday prayers as members of two communities indulged in brick-batting and hurled bombs over attempts to shut shops in protest against ‘insulting’ comments on Prophet Mohammed.

    Clashes broke out in Pared, Nai Sadak and Yateemkhana areas of Kanpur, police said.

    The two sides hurled bombs and opened fire as members of one of the groups attempted to shut shops over alleged insulting remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma during a television debate recently, a senior police official said.

    Those who allegedly forced shopkeepers to shut shops clashed with police personnel who had to use batons to disperse the mob.

    Some local leaders, including Maulana Mohammed Ali (MMA) Jauhar Fans Association chief Hayat Zafar Hashmi, had called for closure of shops on Friday in protest against the remarks.

    They had also taken out a procession during which they confronted members of other community, an official said, adding that as a result of which clashes broke out.

    Soon hundreds of people had taken to the streets in protest.

    About half-a-dozen people, including street goers and onlookers, sustained serious injuries in the incident.

    Kanpur’s District Magistrate Neha Sharma told PTI, “Members of a particular community took to the street in protest and indulged in violence.

    Several people were seriously injured and have been sent for medical assistance.

    “Heavy police force has been deployed in the affected areas. The police have also sought additional reinforcement,” she said.

    Strict instructions have been issued to maintain close vigil on the simmering situation and make sure no further violence takes place, she said.

    The senior official added that an investigation has been launched into the episode and many have been detained for questioning.