MUZAFFARNAGAR/LUCKNOW, Sept 8: Death toll in the communal violence-hit Muzaffarnagar rose to 14 after two more bodies were found this morning.
The Army has also been moved to Shamli and Meerut districts to control the situation.
State Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Arun Kumar, who rushed to Muzaffarnagar said the death toll has gone up to 14.
He, however, expressed that the toll could move further up as several people are still missing.
Altogether 34 people were injured in the clash.More than 40 people have been arrested by the police so far. Incidents of firing and clash were also reported today in some rural areas of the district.
Unofficial claims that the death toll has risen to 18 and 100 people have been injured.
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav also held a meeting with the officials and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav at his residence in Lucknow to assess the situation in West UP.
Mr Yadav has directed the officials to take stern step against the culprits.
An Army statement here today said eight Army columns from Meerut under Brigadier Jagdeep reached Muzaffarnagar early this morning and they had a meeting with the senior officials of the state police and the civil administration.
After the meeting the Army columns were located in various sensitive areas of the city and the columns also conducted a mounted Flag March in the morning.
The statement said another request for requisitioning Army assistance in Shamli was received from the District Magistrate in the early hours and accordingly one Army column was moved from Meerut to Shamli.
Requisition for Army assistance in Meerut also received this afternoon and one more column being located in Meerut.
The nine columns of the Army continue to be located in the sensitive areas till reports last came in.
School colleges in Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli has been closed for indefinite period while four senior police officers from Lucknow has been rushed to West UP as Officers on Special Duty(OSD).
On the other hand, Union Home ministry has sought a report from the UP government over the communal violence in Muzaffarnagar.
The Centre has questioned that when they had alerted a week back to UP and Bihar over the apprehension of communal violence then how did the situation went out of control in Muzaffarnagar.
Yesterday, ten people including a TV journalist were killed in the communal clash after tension was running high in the district since three people were killed in Kawal village on August 27 over an eve-teasing.
An indefinite curfew, imposed in Nai Mandi, city Kotwali and Civil Lines police station areas continued though no fresh incident of violence had been reported since last evening, he added.
A total of 38 companies of Army, para military, Rapid Action Force(RAF) and PAC were deployed in violence-hit western UP district.
The twin districts of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli have been witnessing sporadic violence since August 27, when a youth and his cousin had beat to death a man of another community for teasing former’s sister in Kawal village in Muzaffarnagar. The violence had spread to Shamli soon after.
The situation in Muzaffarnagar got out of control yesterday following incidents of firing, stone pelting and violence in which IBN 7 journalist Rajesh Verma and a part time photographer of police Israr were killed. (UNI)
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