As protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) continue across the state of UP, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a late night meeting through video conferencing with district civil and police chiefs and asked them to take strict steps in dealing with troublemakers. As the meeting ended, Lucknow Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani said that all public events till December 19, which were earlier given permission, stand cancelled till further orders.
Internet services have been suspended in five districts – Saharanpur, Meerut, Aligarh, Mau and Kasganj. Mau witnessed large scale violence on Monday night when the protestors vandalized Dakshintola police station and set about 15 vehicles ablaze.
Teargas shells were lobbed by the police force in the air to disperse the crowd. Security has also been beefed up at the BJP state headquarters in Lucknow and police officials have been asked to ensure security of party offices in various districts.
Azamgarh also joined in the protests and students from the Shibli College staged a demonstration outside the campus on Monday night as a mark of solidarity with the students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, who are protesting against the CAA and NRC.
Anti-BJP and RSS slogans were raised by the students while holding the national flag in their hands. The agitators broke the police cordon and moved out of the campus to take out a procession in the city. However, situation also remained tense in Bareilly, Rampur, Allahabad and Mau.
Additional Chief Secretary (home) Awanish Awasthi said all District Magistrates (DM) and SSPs have been asked to remain in their headquarters. Shamli SP Vineet Jaiswal visited Madarasas in Kairana and asked students to maintain peace and harmony.
Additional company of provincial armed constabulary (PAC) has been deployed to maintain law and order. The district magistrate of Muzaffarnagar and the superintendent of police took out flag march and held peace meetings. Agra SSP Babloo Kumar asked all circle officers and inspectors to maintain vigil in their areas and conduct round-the-clock patrolling in sensitive areas. In Rae Bareli and Sultanpur, district police chiefs Swapnil Mamgain and Himanshu Kumar conducted marches in market places and interacted with members of peace committees.