Cong MLA, 50 others arrested for Varanasi violence

Varanasi/New Delhi, October 6

A Uttar Pradesh Congress lawmaker was among the 50-odd people arrested on Tuesday a day after violence broke out in Varanasi over immersion of Ganesh idols in Ganga.

Congress MLA Ajay Rai was arrested in a police crackdown for inciting violence soon after his flight from Delhi landed at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport in Babatpu airport at 5.30 pm. Rai, an MLA from the Pindra assembly segment in Uttar Pradesh, had unsuccessfully attempted to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi last year. He lost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 Schools and colleges were closed and traffic on roads remained sparse in the aftermath of clashes that erupted between police and Hindu devotees on Monday. The incident left 25 people, including policemen, injured. 

Very few tourists ventured into Godowlia, the area worst hit by Monday’s clashes. 

In Delhi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called the incident unfortunate and said that he had told the state government to bring the city back to normal.

"Whatever happened in Varanasi was very unfortunate. Law and order is a subject related to the state government. I have talked to several officials yesterday and I have been informed that efforts are being made to normalise the situation," Rajnath Singh said in Delhi.

Some 50 people had been arrested earlier in the day for the violence.

State government began to implement the order this year, resulting in a standoff between authorities and organisers of such festivals.

Some 105 people were named in an FIR at Dashashwamedh police station, Senior Superintendent Akash Kulhari said, adding that police were conducting regular patrols in the areas affected by the clashes to ensure peace.

Clashes broke out on Monday some people began pelting stones at policemen accompanying what was initially a peaceful march of some religious organisations against police action during a recent sit-in protest.

The holy city saw similar violence on September 24 when a dharna called by Hindu groups last month ended abruptly after police resorted to cane charge. The Uttar Pradesh Government later called for a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

District administration refused to allow immersion of Ganesh idols in Ganga at the end of this year’s Ganesh Chaturthi citing an order of the Allahbad High Court that banned such activities to prevent pollution of the river in 2013. The court had given the state government a year to implement the ban. The relaxation ended this year. — PTI