DHAKA: Army staged a flag march in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar Sunday where the toll in communal clashes between members of two communities climbed to 12 while 40 were injured.

Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported from villages in Meerut where two people have been killed while seven are said to be wounded.

‘Twelve people have been killed in the clashes and the toll is expected to rise as some people are missing. Police is searching for them,’ district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said, reports Hindustan Times.

According to reports, 30 persons have been arrested in the case so far.
Curfew has been clamped in Civil Lines, Kotwali and Nai Mandi areas of the district where the Army has been deployed along with five companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary, five of Rapid Action Force and the police.

The Army has also been deployed in some areas of neighbouring Shamli district as well.

The district administration will decide whether to impose curfew in five rural areas in the district after analysing the situation there.

‘Curfew could be extended to rural areas if situation fails to improve,’ said Sharma.

There were reports of clashes from Kutba-Kutbi village and Sikandarpur village in Muzaffarnagar district on Sunday.

Trouble first broke out in the district on August 27 after a molestation incident in Kaval village.

The man accused of the crime was stabbed to death, prompting his community to lynch two members of the other community.

BDST: 1808 HRS, SEPT 08, 2013
RoR/RK