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Kasganj communal clash: Two more arrested, 29 accused charged with sedition

According to Kasganj police, so far 16 cases are being investigated by the SIT in the incident. These cases were lodged between January 26 and February 6.

Thirteen cases, including Abhishek Gupta murder case, had been lodged at Kasganj police station while two were registered at the Ganjdudwara police station. (Express Photo/Praveen Khanna)

Two more accused in the Kasganj communal clash, in which one person was killed, were arrested from the district on Wednesday. Those arrested were identified as Waseem and Naseem, brothers of prime accused Saleem. With this, the total number of arrests in the murder case has gone upto 19. Twenty-nine men, all Muslims, are accused of killing 22-year-old Abhishek Gupta. They were charged with sedition for allegedly raising “pro-Pakistan and anti-India” slogans shortly before the clashes on January 26 this year. The charge follows a complaint submitted by Abhishek’s father Sushil Gupta.

In the FIR, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, Sushil stated that his sons Abhishek and Vivek participated in the Tiranga Rally. When they were passing through the tehsil road, a group from the Muslim community stopped them in front of the Rajkiya Balika Intermediate College. They all were carrying firearms, Gupta alleged. They snatched Tricolour from them, threw it on the ground and raised slogans “Pakistan Zindabad” and “Hindustan Murdabad”, the complainant alleged, adding, The accused also said they had to chant with them if the Rally wanted to pass through the area.

They began firing at them when Abhishek objected, the complainant said. He accused a man named Saleem of firing the shot that killed Abhishek, upon being instigated by others. The FIR on Gupta’s complaint was lodged under IPC sections 124 A (sedition), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 302 (murder), among others. Police also invoked section 3 of Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 against the accused for allegedly insulting the Tricolour. Additional Superintendent of Police, Om Prakash Singh, who is heading the special investigation team (SIT), said they “are verifying the allegations.”

When contacted, Sushil Gupta said, “I have mentioned the sequence of the incident on the basis of the information given by Vivek and his friends, who were also part of the tiranga yatra. SIT has so far not recorded our statement… This was the first time that the yatra was taken out through Gappu ka chauraha where the incident took place. I have no idea who advised the youths to take out the yatra this year through this locality.” On Wednesday, a police gunner was deputed with Vivek.

According to Kasganj police, so far 16 cases are being investigated by the SIT in the incident. These cases were lodged between January 26 and February 6. Thirteen cases, including Abhishek Gupta murder case, had been lodged at Kasganj police station while two were registered at the Ganjdudwara police station.

First uploaded on: 08-02-2018 at 00:53 IST

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