6 held in UP's Unnao after clashes with police over illegal procession

Unnao (UP), Sep 22 (PTI) Tension prevailed in Manohar Nagar area under Gangaghat police station limits here after clashes broke out between police and a mob during a procession taken out without permission, officials said on Monday.

The row began after the Kanpur Police registered a case on September 9 against nine named and 15 unidentified people for allegedly installing 'I Love Mohammad' boards on a public road in Syed Nagar under Rawatpur police station in Kanpur.

Hindu organisations objected to the move, calling it a "new trend" and alleging it was a deliberate provocation, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Kanpur Dinesh Tripathi said.

A procession was taken out in Unnao on Sunday night without seeking permission from the administration to protest the FIR lodged in Kanpur against two dozen people for putting up the 'I Love Mohammad' boards on a public road.

The police intervened to stop the procession. A clash took place between the processionists and the police.

During the clash, the mob allegedly pelted stones at the police, creating panic in the area.

Another FIR was lodged at Gangaghat police station in Unnao against eight named and around 30 unidentified persons under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Criminal Law Amendment Act.

Six people have been taken into custody so far, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Akhilesh Singh said. Heavy police force has been deployed in the Gangaghat police station area as a precautionary measure, he added.

On Monday, senior police officials held a meeting with city cleric Maulana Nisar Ahmad Misbahi, urging people to maintain peace.

The cleric appealed to youths not to turn any protest into a procession, avoid sloganeering and instead convey their concerns peacefully through memoranda to officials.

District in-charge minister Dharampal Singh told reporters on Monday that strict action will be taken against those violating the law. PTI COR ABN ABN KSS KSS