BAREILLY: Parts of the western UP city of Bareilly witnessed rioting again after Mayawati government, in a late Thursday night decision, freed Muslim leader Tauqir Raza Khan, who had been arrested allegedly for inciting violence.
Khan was ordered to be released soon after all the charges, except a milder one under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, were removed by the Uttar Pradesh administration and he was allowed to walk free following immense pressure from the members of his community.
According to unconfirmed reports, scores of people went about torching shops and establishments in areas dominated both by Hindus and Muslims.
Until one hour ago, there were reports of rioting and firing in localities like Shahmatganj, Kali Bari and Sindhu Nagar. A Moti Mahal restaurant situated near Bareilly Degree College was reportedly torched.
There were, however, no reports of casualties nor any estimate of the damages as phones of all the key police officers and local administrators were either not available, or went unanswered.
As reported by Times of India earlier in the evening, the UP government was under immense pressure from members of his community to release Tauqir Raza Khan. He was arrested on March 8 as he was accused of fomenting trouble, engineering riots and inciting people by police.
Bareilly sitting on powder keg, curfew reimposed
Completely defying the curfew, mobs running into thousands, had fanned out in the streets on Wednesday in his support. They had gathered in a large, open stadium of a local school - Islamia Inter College - to listen to impassioned speeches made by Subhani Miyan, Khan's father-in-law and head cleric of a well-known mosque.
The crowd shouted slogans pleading Khan's innocence and demanded his immediate, unconditional release, leading to heightened tension in the city.
Things had almost reached a flashpoint on Wednesday itself when the slogan-shouting mobs almost came to clashes with members of the other community, who were protesting against a lenient treatment to Khan.
Curfew had been imposed in this Terai belt city of western Uttar Pradesh on March 2 after communal clashes broke out during a religious procession.
According to local residents, this is the first such incident of rioting as the city was until now not deemed "communally sensitive" unlike neighbouring Moradabad and Rampur districts.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Riots-flare-again-in-Bareilly-after-leader-Tauqirs-release/articleshow/5673661.cms