Uttar Pradesh: 93 people booked for vandalism, misconduct during protest against church construction
However, an official said that a prayer hall is being built in Kanpur’s Akbarpur area and not a church.
The Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday filed a first information report against 93 persons associated with several Hindutva groups after they staged a protest at an under-construction building in Kanpur’s Akbarpur area and vandalised the property, reported PTI.
The protestors claimed that a church was being built at the site without proper approval, reported The Indian Express. But an unidentified senior district administration told the newspaper that a prayer hall is being built along with a Christian school.
The protestors, however, accused the district administration of facilitating the construction of a church.
A video of the incident showed “Jai Shri Ram” written on the wall.
The FIR said that the mob demolished a makeshift boundary, destroyed furniture and pulled down a newly-built wall, reported PTI.
Station House Officer Satish Kumar Singh said that the mob also misbehaved with officials, including a tehsildar, when they were trying to control the situation. The police said additional forces had to be called to ensure peace.
The accused – 13 named and 80 unidentified – have been booked under sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly in prosecution of the common object), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 186 (voluntarily obstructs any public servant in the discharge of his public functions), 323 (voluntarily causes hurt), 504 (intentional insult leading to breakdown of public peace), 425 (damage to property), 427 (damage to property amounting to more than fifty rupees), 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
However, no one has been arrested so far.
Hindutva outfit Bajrang Dal’s Kanpur Dehat district coordinator Gaurav Shukla, who is among the 93 persons named in the FIR, said the group had complained about the construction of the church but no action was taken by the authorities.