UP Police books rioters who went on rampage after sacrilege incident

Shahjahanpur: An FIR was lodged on Saturday against 18 named and 300 unidentified people for rioting after a copy of the Quran was found burnt in a mosque here, police said.

A large number of people gathered at the mosque and held a demonstration on Wednesday after the Quran was found burnt.

With the help of CCTV footage, the accused, Taj Mohammad, was identified the next morning and arrested.

When police reached there, the demonstrators raised slogans and tore the banner, posters present in the area and set them on fire, Superintendent of Police S Anand told PTI.

Citing the FIR lodged by Beri chowki incharge Pranjal Singh Yadav, the SP said the demonstrators also blocked the road.

The shopkeepers of the area downed their shutters and the residents closed their doors and started running around for safety which led to hindrance in government work.

After lodging the case against 18 named and 300 unidentified people, investigations have started in the case, the SP said.

On Friday, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Rajesh Awasthi had given a memorandum to the Superintendent of Police and demanded that action should be taken under the Gangsters Act and the National Security Act (NSA) against those who tried to disturb peace over the incident.