5 More Arrested in Kanpur After Violence Over Nupur Sharma’s Remarks, SIT Set Up

Actions under the Gangster Act and NSA will be taken against those arrested and their property will be seized.

Violence broke out during a shutdown called by Muslims over Nupur Sharma's comments against Prophet Muhammad.

(Photo: Piyush Rai/The Quint)

Uttar Pradesh Police arrested five more people on Sunday, 5 June, taking the total to 29 people held in connection with the violence that unfolded in Kanpur, during a shutdown observed by Muslims protesting against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma's comments against Prophet Muhammad.

Meanwhile, the Kanpur police on Monday, 6 June, also issued a poster of 40 suspects involved in the clash, with their pictures, on the basis of the CCTV footage and have appealed to the public to help in the search for the suspects.

On Sunday, BJP had suspended spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled Naveen Jindal from party's primary membership, after widespread outrage from middle-eastern countries.

Actions under the Gangster Act and NSA will be taken against all those who have been arrested and their property will be seized, per the police.

The Kanpur police commissionerate has also set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the violence that took place in Kanpur.

According to Kanpur Commissioner of Police Vijay Singh Meena, the SIT will be headed by DCP South Sanjeev Tyagi who will be assisted by Additional DCP (West) Brajesh Srivastava, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) (Anwarganj) Akmal Khan, ACP (Colonelganj) Tirpurari Pandey, along with an inspector and two sub-inspectors.

The chief of Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) Naveen Arora also visited Kanpur on Sunday and interacted with the police teams investigating the incident.

"We will give expert and technical support in analysis (of the incident)," Arora told news agency PTI.

The arrested persons, including prime accused Hayat Zafar Hashmi, were produced before the special remand magistrate court which sent them to judicial custody for 14 days, a senior police official said.

Background 

The violence had broken out in Pared, Nai Sadak, and Yateemkhana areas of the city on Friday when some people tried to force shopkeepers to bring down shutters to protest against Nupur Sharma’s remarks against Prophet Muhammad.

The identities of over 100 more accused have been established, DCP (East) Pramod Kumar said.

Kumar added that it has been decided to move an application before the court on Monday seeking 14-day police custody of the accused.

‘Will Investigate PFI Links’: Police

Police Commissioner Meena was quoted as saying, "We will investigate if they (accused) had any links with the PFI (Popular Front of India), which had called for a closure (of shops) in Manipur and West Bengal on the same day."

"Documents related to the Social Democratic Party of India and the Campus Front of India were also found during searches at the premises of Hayat Zafar Hashmi," he said.

"All arrests so far have been made on the basis of photographic and video evidence from the scenes of riot with the help of human intelligence," he said.

Meena said six mobile phones were recovered from the arrested accused including MMA Jauhar Fans Association chief Hayat Zafar Hashmi, Jawed Ahmad Khan, Mohammad Rahil, and Mohammad Sufiyan who were arrested from Hazratganj, Lucknow on Saturday.

The mobile phones and social media accounts of the arrested accused are being searched, he said, adding that action will be taken after collecting evidence.

He also said that appropriate action will be taken if any laxity is found on the part of police officials.

Four FIRs have been filed so far. Out of the four, two were filed by the authorities and one on behalf of an injured person, police sources had earlier told The Quint. The FIRs name at least 56 people, while 1,000 accused who currently remain unidentified have been booked.

Meanwhile, DM, Kanpur, defended the police action in investigating the Kanpur violence on 3 June.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey said that the Mumbai Police will send a summon to Sharma soon and will record her statement in connection with her alleged comments, news agency ANI reported.

Apart from Qatar, Indian ambassadors to Iran and Kuwait were also summoned by the foreign ministries of the respective countries on Sunday, over the remarks by BJP leader Nupur Sharma against Prophet Muhammad.

(With inputs from PTI.)