Army begins to pull out of Muzaffarnagar
The Army on Tuesday began pulling out of Muzaffarnagar after it was deployed there for almost eight days. Curfew had been completely lifted from Muzaffarnagar on Monday night.
ADG (law and order) Arun Kumar said, “There is absolute calm and the district administration and police are in complete control of the situation. Hence, the Army is being withdrawn and the process will be completed today itself.”
Nearly 28 units of the Army were requisitioned to assist the district administration after communal clashes erupted in Muzaffarnagar city on September 7. The magnitude of the violence had forced the authorities to deploy the army for the first time in over two decades to quell the clashes.
District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma told reporters that the administration would now focus on rehabilitation of people who had been forced to flee their homes and were living in relief camps. Officials will also distribute the financial compensation sanctioned by the state government for the riot victims.
The police said door-to-doors checks were still on in rural areas to nab the culprits and to seize weapons.
Normalcy is returning to the violence-ravaged Muzaffarnagar, where at least 48 people were killed and over 43,000 displaced in the communal riots that continued for over four days. The displaced have taken refuge in the 38 relief camps set up by the state government, and many have refused to go back home.
Meanwhile, a special cell, comprising an additional superintendent of police, two DSPs and 30 police inspectors, set up to investigate cases related to riots in Muzaffarnagar has started collecting evidence related to the violence in the city.
District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma had said on Monday that the special cell was formed on the instructions of the UP government.
Senior superintendent of police Praveen Kumar said that close to 20 special investigation teams have been constituted to probe the riot cases.
The special teams have been asked to go to camps to obtain complaints from the riot-affected people and people have been asked to approach the SSP camp office in the city to file the complaints related to riots.
The district administration, according to the district magistrate, has cancelled 1,700 arms licences in the area since the riots erupted and notices have been issued to 5,000 other arms licence holders.
A total of 7,198 people from 4,729 families are at present living in 41 relief camps set up by the administration.
Meanwhile, the Bhartiya Kisan Union chief Naresh Tikait, who is accused of provoking violence, has demanded a CBI probe into the matter. The Rashtriya Lok Dal has also sought a CBI probe into the riots.
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