A day after a clash broke out between two separate communities outside a Shahjahanpur gurudwara in Uttar Pradesh, a case has been registered against more than 70 persons for rioting and arson, the police said on Sunday.
Tension erupted on Saturday when a 14-year-old girl was putting up a cart to sell 'rakhis' outside a gurudwara in Banda area of the district and the watchman objected to it, said Additional Superintendent of Police (rural) Subhash Chandra Shakya. The watchman of the gurudwara also allegedly hit the girl with a stick on her leg, police said.
Soon Hindus and Sikhs reached the area and indulged in stone pelting, according to the police.
Superintendent of Police, Shahjahanpur S Chinappa said, "A case has been registered against more than 70 persons from both sides under various sections of the IPC for rioting, arson, damaging public property. A heavy police deployment has been made in the area."
A meeting of the two sides has been called by District Magistrate Amrit Tripathi so as to establish peace in the area, he said. "One police vehicle and two other vehicles have been damaged due to stone pelting," Sub-divisional Magistrate Satyapriye Singh had said on Saturday.
