Tension in Bareilly after Friday prayers: Mob caned, teargas shells burst

Tensions flared up here after Friday prayers when a large crowd marched toward Islamia Ground defying police restrictions following a protest call given by head of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) Maulana Tauqeer Raza.

The situation turned volatile when the crowd reportedly began chanting religious slogans and pelting stones at the police. In response, the law enforcement agency resorted to a lathi-charge and used tear gas to disperse the mob, leading to chaos and a brief stampede in the area.

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Maulana Tauqeer Raza has been taken into custody. He has a controversial antecedents and faces charges of inciting riots in Bareilly in 2010 with a case still under judicial consideration .

In the wake of the unrest, heavy police deployment has been enforced across Bareilly. Forces from neighbouring districts have been called in, and senior officers are patrolling sensitive areas, urging residents to stay indoors for their safety.

Speaking on the incident, IMC leader Nadeem claimed that Tauqeer Raza had been placed under house arrest and accused authorities of targeting the Muslim community. “The atrocities being committed against our people are intolerable,” he stated.

Meanwhile, a related but calmer incident occurred in Saharanpur, where a man emerged from Friday prayers at the city’s Jama Masjid holding posters that read “I Love Mohammad” in bold letters. The police on the scene quickly confiscated the posters and defused the situation without further disruption.

Maulana Syed Arshad of Saharanpur’s Jama Masjid said, “We were all offering namaz when this happened. Everyone has the right to love their religious figures. I’m reminded of a couplet by Akbar Allahabadi: ‘Raqeebon ne rapat likhwaayi hai ja ja ke thane mein, ke Akbar naam leta hai Khuda ka is zamane mein.’”

Authorities in Prayagraj also stepped up security in sensitive areas such as Atala, where senior officials, including Additional CP (Law & Order) Dr. Ajay Pal Sharma and District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma, personally inspected the situation and urged residents to maintain peace and harmony.

As of now, the situation across all three cities, along with other sensitive districts including Meerut, Moradabad, Aligarh, Sambhal, Muzaffarnagar, Varanasi, Lucknow etc., remained under control with the police and the administration on high alert to prevent any untoward incident. The cops were monitoring the situation with the help of drones.