Saharanpur:
Eid prayers began at 8.45 this morning in riot-ravaged Saharanpur, where curfew has been lifted between 7 am and 11 am and will also relaxed between 3 pm and 7 pm.
Three people were killed and 24 injured in clashes on the weekend in the Uttar Pradesh town.
Here are the latest developments:
People wearing arm bands and holding up banners for peace were seen making their way to mosques for prayers. A member of the town's Eidgah Committee said, "Eid is anyways marked by a call for peace and harmony... But this year we are especially praying that peace returns to Saharanpur."
On Tuesday, curfew timings will not vary for different areas. But curfew remains along a highway that divides the new and old part of the city and people will not be allowed to cross from one side to another, the administration said. (In Saharanpur, a Highway has Become the Symbol of Divide)
But people have been allowed to offer prayers at any mosque in the city that they want to, even if it is located in a place where curfew has not been lifted.
There is heavy deployment of paramilitary forces and the police.
On one side of the highway lies the old city, a predominantly Muslim area. On the other side is the newer city with a sizeable Sikh population. The clashes broke out early on Saturday morning over a small plot of land next to a gurudwara that members of the Sikh community began construction on. Local Muslims claim that land belongs to a mosque.
On Monday, curfew was relaxed in the morning in new Saharanpur and in the evening in the Old city. Shops were open during those hours and people queued up at petrol pumps, grocery stores and medicine shops as they rushed outside to stock up on essentials.
Schools are expected to reopen tomorrow if the situation is calm. No incident of violence has been reported overnight.
66 people have been arrested and nine first information reports or FIRs have been registered at various police stations, among them one against Moharram Ali Pappu, a former corporation councilor. He has been charged with rioting, arson and conspiracy.
Political parties are squabbling in a blame game. Raghav Lakhan Pal, the BJP MP from Saharanpur, has accused a local Congress leader Imran Masood of provoking and instigating crowds. Mr Masood said he had in fact tried his utmost to calm rioting mobs and has accused Mr Pal of "spreading politics of hate."
By-elections will be held for the Saharanpur Assembly seat next month along with that for the Moradabad seat and 12 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP had won 11 and the Samajwadi Party had won one of those 12 in general elections held in May.
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