PM, Sonia, Rahul to visit Muzaffarnagar today

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Muzaffarnagar: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, and vice president Rahul Gandhi will visit certain riot-affected localities in Muzaffarnagar district today.The BJP slammed the visit accusing the Congress of trying to take political advantage of a tragedy. On the proposed visit, District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said: "They will stay here for two hours during which they are expected to visit three relief camps where riot-hit people are taking shelter". Sharma told PTI that they will also visit the residence of freelance journalist Rajesh Verma, who was among those killed in the violence. After their arrival in Muzaffarnagar at around 10:00 AM, they will visit the rural Shahpur locality along with local leaders and administration officials, the District Magistrate said.They are expected to go to relief camps at Basikalan, Tawli and Sanjhak, he said. The area is about 30 km from district headquarters and some camps are still functioning as riot-hit people are staying there. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who visited the district yesterday, was greeted with black flags and slogan shouting by angry villagers. A strong posse of state policemen and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel will man each and every location in the city during the VVIP visit, official sources said. The district administration has already made elaborate arrangements for the PM's visit with top officials from Lucknow camping here. "Extra force has been provided to Meerut Zone for the Prime Minister's visit," IG (Law and Order) RK Vishwakarma told reporters in Lucknow. Additional Director General of Police OP Singh would be the incharge of the overall security, he said. Around 4,000 personnel of PAC and RAF are already camping in the district, where situation is peaceful and no fresh incident has been reported.The District Magistrate said schools will open from today for the first time after their closure was ordered in view of curfew clamped in the city on September 7.Senior SP Praveen Kumar said, "After assessing the situation, we may plan to lift night curfew from the city (on Monday) or day after."