Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh witnessed protests which turned violent in many cities including Prayagraj, Moradabad, Saharanpur after Friday prayers.
Till Saturday morning, about 227 miscreants have been arrested from different cities of the state and the number is likely to rise.
The protest-turned-violence in Prayagraj, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Hathras happened on Friday over the remarks of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal. In Prayagraj, the miscreants pelted stones at the police by putting the childrenat front. Police vehicles were burnt. RAF jawan got injured in stone pelting, while DM-SSP also got pelted at. Police lathi-charged the stone pelters and resorted to tear gas. Situation was brought under control after four hours. Sealing the area, Police have now started arresting the stone pelters, for this a list has also been prepared.
In many cities of the state, arrests for the ruckus and disturbances after the Friday prayers have intensified. Those arrested include 68 from Prayagraj, 48 from Saharanpur, 50 from Hathras, 25 from Moradabad, 8 from Firozabad and 28 from Ambedkarnagar. The number of is likely to increase.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given strict instructions to the top officials to deal with the rioters, amid protests. He has said that strictest action should be taken against the miscreants who are creating unrest.
