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11 killed in sectarian violence in UP

Eleven persons were killed and 30 injured in sectarian violence in Mubarakpur town of Azamgarh district in eastern Uttar Pradesh on Sunday night, state police chief M C Dwivedi said in Lucknow on Monday morning.

Dwivedi told rediff.com, "The clash was apparently a sequel to a Shia-Sunni riot in the same town in January last. A Sunni locality had then been attacked by a group of Shias."

It was suspected that Sunday's trouble was sparked off following the release of some of the accused in the January violence from jail. "There was reason to believe that they had some role to play in this act of reprisal," the police chief said.

According to Dwivedi, "Indefinite curfew had been imposed in the town and para-military forces and riot police deployed to keep a round-the-clock vigil to prevent recurrence of the violence."

Senior police officials have been despatched in the affected town to monitor the security operations. "We cannot take any chances in view of the communally sensitive background of Azamgarh district," Dwivedi said.

According to information reaching the state police headquarters in Lucknow, trouble broke out around 2000 hours (IST) when a band of angry youth belonging to one sect instigated violence in a locality dominated by the rival sect.

"They hurled bombs at the houses and shops owned by members of the rival sect," an Azamgarh district official said over telephone.

"All hell broke loose as the victims, who, despite being caught unawares, promptly came out with guns and weapons leading to a bloody battle that continued for more than an hour," he said.

"Terror-stricken residents of the locality ran helter-skelter as rioters and arsonists indulged in violence that left 30 persons seriously injured and hospitalised," he added.

About 12 persons have been arrested in connection with the violence so far while the hunt was on to nab other culprits. Heavy police deployments have been made in other sensitive parts of the district that are known to be communally sensitive.

Besides being a communally sensitive district, Azamgarh is also notorious for its illegal gun-running operations.

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