Kannauj: Close to two dozen members of right-wing groups staged a protest here on Monday against the “wrongful” arrest of some people accused of burning meat shops in this Uttar Pradesh district, officials said.
On early Saturday morning, a temple priest found pieces of meat inside the temple. The incident took place in Rasoolabad village located within the Talgram police station limits. Enraged over the incident, a mob set three nearby meat shops on fire.
On Sunday, the state government removed District Magistrate (DM) Rajesh Mishra and Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajesh Srivastava. Three other cops were also suspended, senior government officials confirmed on Monday.
“The station house officer (SHO) of Talgram police station Harishyam Singh and two Sub Inspectors Vinay Kumar and Ram Prakash were suspended and sent to police lines for dereliction of duty,” said Inspector General (Kanpur range) Prashant Kumar.
Donning saffron attire, the members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal sat outside the office of the district magistrate and chanted ‘Hanuman Chalisa’, demanding the immediate release of those ‘wrongfully’ arrested for setting the meat shops ablaze.
Police said they have lodged an FIR against unidentified persons and launched a probe.
Police sources said close to a dozen people have been detained by the police in connection with the case of arson of meat shops.
Meanwhile, the state government has appointed Shubhrant Singh and Kunwar Anupam Singh as the new DM and SP, respectively.
“Adequate police teams have been deployed in the area. The situation is currently under control. All business places are open and people are going out for their work. The matter is being investigated and the culprits will be arrested soon,” SP Kunwar Anupam Singh said.
