15, Jan 2016

• 15 Jan 2016
• Hindustan Times (Mumbai)
• Haidar Naqvi [email protected]
KANPUR: More than 30 people were injured and a woman lost an eye in a communal clash that broke out in the famous Khichdi Mela of Jahanabad town, 35km from Kanpur and in the Fatehpur district of UP. The violence occurred just an hour before VHP president Praveen Togadia and Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti were scheduled to attend a related event. The disturbance began after members of a right-wing group, armed with swords and saffron flags, took out a procession, calling on people to attend the programme.
As the procession was passing through the town, a youth snapped an electricity wire to allow a tempo, which contained dozens of loudspeakers, to pass through. When a few members of the Muslim community raised an objection, the group began raising slogans.
An ensuing argument led to a full-fledged clash, with members of both communities opening fire and pelting each other with stones and other missiles.
The Fatehpur police rushed additional forces, including two companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), to bring the situation under control. The police had to lathi-charge the rioters who had started indulging in arson.