Eight days after communal violence erupted in Bareilly over a controversial slogan, Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday stopped a 14-member Samajwadi Party (SP) delegation from entering the city to meet those affected by the unrest.
SP MPs Harendra Malik, Iqra Hasan, and Mohibullah Nadvi were stopped at the Ghaziabad border while traveling from Delhi to Bareilly. Despite staging a protest for nearly 40 minutes, the police eventually turned them back.
Speaking on the incident, MP Iqra Hasan said, “It feels like an undeclared emergency in Uttar Pradesh. If someone writes ‘I love Mahadev’ or ‘I love Shri Ram’, no one raises objections. So what’s wrong with ‘I love Mohammad’?”
In Lucknow, Leader of the Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey was placed under house arrest by the police.
Addressing the media, Mata Prasad Pandey criticized the administration’s move. “The District Magistrate should have given the notice directly to us. We were going to Bareilly to meet party workers and gather ground information. The administration’s attempt to stop us raises serious questions. It appears they want to hide their illegal actions. We will expose them,” he said.
He informed that the SP national president constituted a 14 member delegation after receiving reports that several innocent people had been jailed following the recent unrest in Bareilly.
In a similar incident, Sambhal MP Ziaur Rahman Barq was prevented from leaving Bareilly Inspector Rajeev Kumar Malik physically blocked his departure. Despite strong resistance, Barq was not allowed to leave his residence.
Barq questioned the legality of the police action, stating, “What is the fault of those who were arrested in Bareilly? If the police have any evidence that they broke the law, why haven’t they presented it to the media?”
The unrest began on September 26, following Friday prayers, when a youth reportedly wore a T-shirt with the slogan “I Love Mohammad,” sparking protests. Since then, 81 people have been jailed, 10 FIRs filed, and around 200 individuals named out of nearly 2,500 alleged rioters.
Authorities have extended the internet shutdown in Bareilly as a precautionary measure. Police maintain that the violence was pre-planned and have named Islamic cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza as the alleged mastermind.
Despite growing political criticism and calls for transparency, law enforcement officials insist the situation is under control and that investigations are ongoing.