Muzaffarnagar: 31 killed in clashes, PM speaks to Akhilesh Yadav on steps to restore peace

The Prime Minister today spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav about steps taken to restore peace in Muzaffarnagar after communal clashes.

The state government today said 31 people have died in clashes since Saturday. 90 people have been arrested so far from different villages. The police said today that swords and knives have been recovered in searches from affected areas.(Muzaffarnagar violence: 90 arrested; swords, knives and guns found in villages)

A report by the UP Governor BL Joshi sent to the Centre blames the government of Akhilesh Yadav for failing to check the riots, say sources.

The Chief Minister told NDTV this morning that his government will show "no leniency towards those disturbing peace" and appealed to political parties to maintain restraint.(Muzaffarnagar violence: After Mulayam warning, son Akhilesh promises stern action)

The government has said that it will not allow any politicians to visit Muzaffarnagar. A BJP team headed by Ravi Shankar Prasad was detained at the state border and so was RLD leader Ajit Singh. (Muzaffarnagar off-limits to politicians, Union Minister Ajit Singh detained)

The Congress has also deputed four leaders for a similar mission; the contingent has been denied entry.

All of Uttar Pradesh is on high alert. The Army, which was called in on Saturday night and the police have been given shoot-at-sight orders. The police have filed an FIR that lists four BJP state legislators, one from the Congress and two from the regional Bharatiya Kisan Union for stirring communal hatred largely through inflammatory speeches made on Saturday evening at a meeting of thousands of Hindu farmers in Kawal village.

The session or maha-panchayat had been called to demand justice over the killing of three men who had allegedly spoken out when a woman was being harassed late in August.

The farmers were attacked as they were returning home, triggering an angry backlash and the army was called in. Clashes then broke out in neighbouring villages on Sunday.

A video posted online instigated the violence - it claimed to show men being lynched to death in Kawal. But police officials, who have blocked the video, say it is at least two years old, and is "fake." A BJP state legislator, Sangeet Som, is among 250 people listed by the police in a case for uploading that video and sharing it on social networks.

The chief minister's father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who also heads the Samajwadi Party, was reportedly scathing in meetings yesterday of how poorly the crisis has been handled by the government headed by his son.