By Neetika Jha , Alok Singh, Bhupendra Pandey
Over a week after clashes erupted in Bareilly over the ‘I Love Muhammad’ row, DIG (Bareilly Range) Ajay Kumar Sahni said that the posters were not the issue but action had to be taken after a large gathering disturbed law and order last Friday.
Speaking to The Indian Express on Saturday, Sahni said, “The posters were never an issue. In fact, even before last Friday’s incident, we had informed the gathering’s organisers about this. However, when they took the law into their own hands by pelting stones at the police, we were compelled to take action.”
Authorities also demolished a banquet hall owned by a man arrested in connection with the clashes, stating that it was illegal.
The Opposition Samajwadi Party and BJP, meanwhile, continued to spar over the incident after a 14-member delegation led by Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey was stopped from visiting Bareilly.
Pandey, 83, the most senior leader in the UP Assembly, said he was not allowed to leave his house by the Lucknow Police.
“What can be expected from such a system when the Chief Minister of the state himself says ‘me inko sabak sikhaunga (I will teach them a lesson)?”
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
