The situation remains tense in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly on Friday as thousands of followers of Ittehad-e-Millat Council chief Tauqeer Raza Khan took to streets after the Islamic cleric cleric was detained by the police for giving a 'jail bharo' call over Gyanvapi case.
On Thursday, Tauqeer Raza Khan gave a 'jail bharo andolan' (fill the prison) call, asking his supporters to follow him in offering their arrest to police.
Tauqeer Raza Khan gave the call in protest against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's statement in the Assembly that Muslims should wilfully give up their claim on Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura.
Thousands of Raza Khan's supporters took to the streets after Friday namaz. Videos showed them jostling with the
Around 1,000 police personnel were on the ground to maintain the law and order situation. All important intersections, mixed populated areas, and entry and exit points of the city are being manned by police.
Six Additional Superintendents of Police and 12 Circle Officers are also on the ground to control the situation.
The situation remains tense in the area as Bareilly also borders Uttarakhand, where communal clashes took place in Haldwani on Thursday evening.
Speaking about the Haldwani incident, Raza Khan said, "If the government wants violence, we are ready. We are not afraid of the police or bullets. The government is running bulldozer (on madrasa). Supreme Court should take notice but it is working under the government's pressure."
Addressing the UP Assembly on Wednesday, Yogi Adityanath said mentioned the disputed Gyanvapi and Shahi Idgah mosques. Invoking Lord Krishna from 'Mahabharat', the Chief Minister said while Krishna wanted five villages, Hindu society was asking for only three centres.
"Everyone in the country is happy that Lord Ram has been installed in the temple. This is the first instance in the world that Lord Ram Lalla himself had to produce evidence of his own existence. But this teaches us perseverance... We were happy not only because Lord Ram found his place but also because we kept our words... mandir wahi banaya...We do not only talk. We walk the talk," the UP Chief Minister said.
"This (pran-pratisha of Ram Temple) should have happened earlier. We know that the issue was subjudice. But the roads of Ayodhya could have been widened, and an airport could have been made. But what was this mentality to stop the development of Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura?" Adityanath asked.
