The city of Lakhimpur bore witness to tense scenes after it was reported [1][2] that some of its residents were found celebrating the release of terrorist and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
Due to a Lahore court not extending his house arrest, Hafiz Saeed was released from his so called detention. The Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) head has a $10 billion bounty on his head and was under detention since January.
India was predictably outraged at this act of the Pakistani establishment and called it an attempt by Pakistan to mainstream proscribed terrorists and a reflection of its continuing support to non-state actors. What aggrieved people even more was the fact that Saeed was released so close to the 26/11 anniversary.
But some residents of Lakhimpur didn’t share this outrage. On Friday morning the Kotwali police received information that 20-25 youths belonging to the Begum Bagh and Lakshminagar area were celebrating the release of Saeed.
These youths had allegedly affixed green flags outside their homes and chanted slogans like “Hafiz Saeed Zindabad” and “Pakistan Zindabad”. Another report claimed that the release also saw the bursting of firecrackers near a religious shrine.
The issue as a result was brought to the notice of District Magistrate Akashdeep after which a police force was rushed to that area.
As per reports, the celebrations began from Thursday afternoon. The reports claimed that the flags were affixed near the home of a RSS worker. He as a resulted investigated the matter and later protested in the evening after finding out the reason why they were hoisted.
He later briefed a few BJP leaders about this matter. Later the Sadar Kotwali police reached the spot and removed those flags.
The DM has as a result constituted a probe to investigate this matter and has assured that action will be taken against the accused after the report is filed. He also instructed the police to maintain peace in the city and the situation is currently being considered under control.
UPDATE: As per a report in The Hindu, a ‘spokesperson’ of Kheri Superintendent of Police has dismissed the claims of celebrations as ‘rumours’ and the cyber cell reportedly is looking into the source of the rumour.
