21 dead in Muzaffarnagar, Opposition slams Akhilesh govt

The death toll in the communal clashes that hit Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh has climbed to 26. As the situation in the district continued to remain tense, a worried Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav asked the official to act tough while curfew was imposed in the riot-hit areas.

UP Home Secretary Kamal Saxena said fake videos about communal clashes are being circulated through social media to disturb the communal harmony in the state. "People are trying to spread rumours to disturb communal harmony through social media and using fake videos to disturb communal harmony in the state. Strict action will be taken against them," said Saxena. On the state government's delay in response to the clashes, Saxena said that the clashes could not be controlled as it had spread to interior areas of the district. Briefing on the security arrangements, IG STF Ashish Gupta said: "Eight column of Army are currently in Muzaffarnagar and 13 companies of paramilitary forces have been placed in the area." Sources say that it may take a week for the situation to normalise. Schools and colleges in the district will remain closed on Monday. The death toll in the communal clashes have left the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister in a difficult spot with the rival political parties targeting the state government for the deteriorating law and order situation. Congress General secretary Digvijaya Singh was quick to react. While expressing regret over the communal clashes, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister hit out at Akhilesh Yadav saying that the Uttar Pradesh fared much better under the Bahujan Samaj Party government. Rashtriya Lok Dal said that it was necessary to impose President's rule in the state. Muzaffarnagar continues to remain under curfew which has been imposed since Saturday.  Army staged a flag march in riot-hit areas of the district. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde is also in touch with Akhilesh Yadav to keep a close watch on the situation, Minister of State (Home) RPN Singh said. "The Home Minister himself has spoken to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. The communal disharmony in the state is a problem and steps have to be taken to solve the crisis," RPN Singh. Muslim clerics, meanwhile, have appealed for calm. They cautioned the people against "political conspiracies" aimed at dividing them on religious lines and appealed for peace and harmony in Uttar Pradesh. "The Muzaffarnagar violence in condemnable.... For past few days, there were attempts to create tension in western UP.... The violence there is result of political game, which should be exposed," said All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahli. "Strict action should be ensured ... mere saying that some political parties are involved in it will not serve the purpose...," Mahali said while appealing to people to ensure that peace is restored. The clashes were sparked off after a huge convention of a particular community had gathered in the town on Sunday to protest against several cases of sexual harassment reported in the past couple of weeks. According to local police some participants in this convention got into a fight with villagers on the outskirts of Muzaffarnagar. As this group got into town, some of those who had been beaten up started ransacking shops. IBN7 journalist Rajesh Verma was shot dead while he was covering the arson in Muzaffarnagar town. Muzaffarnagar riots are not an isolated incident. As many as 22 districts across the state have been put under curfew at various times in the past one year.