Uttar Pradesh: Police denies Congress MP and SP MLA travel to Bareilly amid tensed-situations

Protest in Bareilly under control over `I Love Mohammed` row

Amid the ongoing tensions going on since the last few days in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district, the Congress MP Imran Masood and Samajwadi Party MLA Shahnavaz Khan were stopped by the police from visiting the strife-hit city on Wednesday.

As reported by news agency PTI, the two leaders from Congress and the Samajwadi Party were scheduled to travel to Bareilly by an early morning train to meet some police officers. However, both the leaders from the opposition were confined to their residences on Tuesday night.

After police officials confined them to their place rather than travelling to Bareilly, a team of UP police has been standing guard outside their homes since then.

Responding to the sequence of scenarios, the police officials have not issued any statement. Also, none of the officials have yet explained the action or the confinement of Imran Masood and Shahnavaz Khan while travelling to Bareilly.

Addressing the media at his residence, Masood said, "We follow the Gandhian ideology. We were to leave at 6.50 am for Bareilly to meet the DIG and ADG and return by 1.30 pm. But the government is using such tactics to hide its failures," as cited by news agency PTI.

However, when asked if their visit could have worsened the situation in Bareilly, Masood replied, "It is the government and the police who have made the situation abnormal. Muslims are being selectively targeted. One set of laws applies to us, another to others," reported PTI.

Earlier, on September 26, violent clashes broke out, which caused huge chaos around the city. A crowd of over 2,000 people gathered outside a mosque in the Kotwali area after Friday prayers, followed by stone-pelting.

The unrest was triggered by the cancellation of a proposed protest over the 'I Love Muhammad' poster row called by Khan.

On the other hand, Congress MP Masood also referred to incidents in Fatehpur and Muzaffarnagar, alleging that attacks on religious sites and lootings had gone unchecked, while peaceful protesters were being treated with a heavy hand.

Masood, while cautioning about the ongoing situation across the state, highlighted that, "If such an atmosphere prevails in the country, then people must remain cautious," as cited by news agency PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)