Shopkeeper arrested for spreading ‘false rumour’ of sacrilege in Roorkee clashes
Almost a week after sleepy Landaura town was stirred by large-scale clashes, which left over 30 people injured, police on Monday arrested a shopkeeper and claimed that his “false” allegation of sacrilege had set off the violence.
After questioning the shopkeeper, Mehboob Hassan, police on Sunday had claimed that the violence was triggered due to “rumour mongering”.
On June 1, at least 32 people, including 12 policemen, were injured in clashes after forcible evacuation of the scrap dealer’s shop, allegedly by supporters of a local politician, took a communal turn.
Hassan had alleged that during the evacuation, the holy book of his community was desecrated. The shop was being emptied allegedly by the supporters of former Khanpur MLA Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion.
Most of the shops and business establishments in the town are still shut and fear of clash still lurks.
The police claim that Hassan cooked up the story of desecration of the holy book to take revenge on those who “vandalized” his shop.
“We arrested Hassan on Monday after finding him responsible for the violence,” said Manohar Singh, senior sub-inspector of Landaura police post. An aide of the shopkeeper, Shamim, was also arrested in the case by the police. So far police have arrested 22 people and booked another 150 for their alleged role in the clashes.
