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Bandh violence claims two lives in Aligarh

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Two people were killed in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad-sponsored bandh in Aligarh on Friday morning, leading to tension in certain parts of the city.

Top officials of the Uttar Pradesh administration have rushed to the city to take stock of the situation.

The VHP has given a call for a countrywide bandh to protest the burning of 58 rail passengers in Godhra in Gujarat on Wednesday.

"While one person was stabbed to death in the Gandhi park area near railway road, the other was killed at another place. These killings took place at 6.30 am (IST) on Friday morning. Following the killings there is tension in the city," a correspondent of a local daily told rediff.com from Aligarh on phone.

Vijay Kumar Sharma, the police commissioner of Agra, and Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar, deputy inspector general of police (Agra), have been camping in Aligarh since morning and are personally monitoring the law and order situation in the communally sensitive town.

Arun Singal, deputy commissioner of Aligarh, and Brij Bhushan, senior superintendent of police, have also been out in the city since morning in a bid to bring the situation under control.

"The situation is under control," an officer manning the office of the SSP said.

"SSP Saheb is not in the office. He is in the field since morning," he added.

As a precautionary measure, the district administration has diverted the inter-state buses passing through Aligarh to a bypass.

"We are not allowing buses to come into the city," a senior official in the office of the deputy commissioner said.

Meanwhile, a truck was set ablaze in Mathura causing more than 40 per cent burns to the driver, who has been hospitalised.

The Friday namaz also passed off peacefully without any trouble throughout the state.

"We are definitely keeping our fingers crossed, but so far all has ended well," Uttar Pradesh's principal home secretary Naresh Dayal said.

Dayal described the rest of the state as 'absolutely peaceful and well under control'.

About the holding back of some trains in Allahabad, the principal home secretary said, "This was attempted by some VHP fellows who parked a tractor-trolley in the middle of an important cross-country rail track, but was soon removed to restore the rail traffic."

With inputs from Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

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