Muzaffarnagar Hindu-Muslim riots 26 Killed

The death toll in communal clashes in western Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district rose to 26 amid fresh violence on Sunday.

Arun Kumar, additional director general of police in Muzaffarnagar has confirmed the death toll as 26 (13 deaths on Saturday and 13 on Sunday) in a press conference.
Earlier, state home secretary Kamal Saxena had put the death toll at 19.

The state's Minority Affairs Minister, Azam Khan, has alleged that at yesterday's meeting, provocative speeches were made that called for action against Muslims.

This was the cause of the riots, thousands of Hindu farmers held a meeting in Kawal, made speeches against Muslims and called for action against them.

Nearly 1,000 army troops have been rushed to the violence-hit areas. Officials said 10,000 Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel, 1,300 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers and 1,200 Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel had also been deployed to quell the violence.

Saxena said fresh incidents of violence were reported from Sisauli, Shahpur, Fugna, Kalapar and Dhaurakala areas of Muzaffarnagar. In one place, the army had to resort to firing after someone opened fire at them, he said.

Muzaffarnagar district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said 35 people had been arrested in connection with the violence.

On Saturday, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said incidents of communal violence had increased in the country in 2013. “While 410 incidents occurred in the country last year, this year, till now, 451 incidents have taken place.”