(Image source from: Are these communal clashes politicized?})

September 7, Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh has been in a state of utter pandemonium, blame it on the communal riots that is gradually ripping the peace apart.

With communal clashes paralyzing the district, killing up to 31 so far, and curfew clamped in various riot-torn pockets of it, there seems no easy respite for the UP government yet.

While the State administration has released shoot-at-sight orders in a desperate bid to ease off the riot, the situation in UP remains highly tensed.

Authorities confirmed the situation worsened over the weekend after politicians made provocative speeches at the khap mahapanchayat, which was attended by some BJP leaders, including Hukum Singh, Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana, BKU leaders Naresh Tikait and Rakesh Tikait and Congress leader Harendra Malik.  The police plans to book all the political 'netas' who steamed  up tension between Hindu-Muslim, on the pretext of settling their scores with Muslims.

“We are also probing the role of certain BJP leaders. We are in the process of gathering evidence, on the basis of which legal action will be initiated,” said a police officer.

“An FIR has already been registered against Mr. Som, BJP MLA from Sardhana in Meerut, for his alleged role in sharing an inflammatory video clip of two young men being mercilessly beaten by a mob. Mr. Som has denied the charge,” reports The Hindu.

“The clip, which the police say was taken from a video shot in Pakistan some time ago, was being passed off by those circulating the video in the Muzaffarnagar area as actual footage of an August 27 incident in which two Hindu boys were killed in nearby Kawal village, allegedly by a mob comprising relatives of a Muslim boy who had earlier been killed allegedly by the duo,” the newspaper alleged.

Police believe that rumors have played a key role in stimulating tension along with the doctored video clip that has now been blocked by authorities.

AW: Suchorita Dutta