Army, police patrol Muzaffarnagar, where weapons have been found in villages
90 people have been arrested and at least 1,000 people are accused in the communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, in which 31 people have been killed in the last three days. The police say they have found swords, knives, pistols and revolvers from the riot-hit villages.
Six politicians were named among 40 people booked on Monday for inciting the violence. These included senior leaders from the BJP and Congress, at a time both parties tried to send their delegations to Muzaffarnagar.
BJP MLAs Hukum Singh, Sangeet Som, Suresh Rana and Bhartendra Singh and former Congress MP Harendra Malik were booked for participating in an incendiary farmers' Mahapanchayat in village Kawal on Saturday, which triggered the rioting.
The meeting, which defied a police ban, was organized by BKU leaders Naresh and Rajesh Tikait to demand justice for last month's killing of three men who allegedly tried to protect a woman from being harassed. Farmers were allegedly attacked on their way home.
These politicians have been booked for promoting religious enmity and endangering communal harmony.
The police say they have video evidence against them. But no politician has been arrested so far.
"We have videographed the political leaders who attended the illegal panchayat meet," said the police.
Hukum Singh, one of the most senior BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh, denied making inflammatory speeches.
"I am ready to face arrest. I have never caused communal tension - I appeal to people to maintain peace," Hukum Singh told NDTV. "My speech was recorded. If I said a single inflammatory word then I will retire from politics."
Another BJP MLA Sangeet Som was listed among 250 people in a case for uploading an inflammatory video and sharing it. The video posted online claimed to show men being lynched to death in Kawal, but police officers say it is at least two years old, and is "fake."