Janjivan Bureau / Bareilly : The Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday arrested another accused over the killing of Abhishek Gupta, aka Chandan, during clashes in Kasganj on Republic Day.Kasganj superintendent of police, Piyush Srivastav, said special operations group (SOG) arrested Rahat Qureshi and booked him for murder, continuing its crackdown against the January 26 incident.
Twenty three-year-old Chandan, who was part of a tiranga yatra, was shot dead when bikers holding the tricolour and saffron flags wanted right of the way through an area earmarked for a ceremony in the predominantly Muslim neighbourhood, triggering communal violence. At least three shops, two buses and a car were also torched in the clashes.
Police have so far arrested 17 people out of the 20 named as accused in the FIR lodged on the basis of a complaint filed by Chandan’s father Sushil Gupta.
Among those arrested are Saleem Javed, the prime accused. Saleem’s brothers Waseem and Naseem, who are also named in the FIR, are absconding even as the police are carrying out raids to find the accused.
Meanwhile, life in Kasganj is returning to normal amid strong presence of security personnel. No untoward incident has been reported in the past four days. Markets, schools and offices are again buzzing with activities.
“There has been no reduction in the deployment of security personnel in the area. We are keeping close watch on every development in the town to maintain the law and order,” the SP said.
