On Friday, taking cognizance of the violence that erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district, CM Yogi Adityanath in a late-night video conference meeting directed state police to identify and report all illegal religious structures built on roads within 15 days.
According to the reports, he issued specific directions to the UP Director General of Police (DGP) and state Chief Secretary, as well as the additional chief secretary to act strictly against the religious places that have been illegally built on the roads. He asked them to identify all such religious properties within 15 days and organize a campaign in all the districts.
UP:In a virtual meeting,from Gorakhpur,CM ordered the police to identify and report all illegal religious structures at public places in the state within 15 days. He said, it must be ensured that no religious activity should be held on roads.#Kanpur
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) June 4, 2022
He also asked the authorities to keep ready the plan of action to act legally against these illegal religious places and ensure that no such religious activities are organized on the road in future. CM Yogi Adityanath also ordered the state police to take strict action against the perpetrators who created a ruckus in Kanpur while protesting against BJP leader Nupur Sharma after Friday namaz. The Muslim community yesterday had given a call for a shutdown in the area to protest against Sharma for allegedly committing ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad.
Hundreds of Islamists joined the protest on June 3 and began to pelt stones after the Friday Namaz. At least six people were injured in the violence that broke out on the day when both the Prime Minister and the President of India were in the state. CM Yogi Adityanath ordered the Police to confiscate the properties of the perpetrators and use bulldozers if necessary. He said that in future, no one should dare to spoil the atmosphere in the state by spreading communal fury.
As reported earlier, the police have registered 3 FIRs in connection with the violence that erupted in Beaconganj, Kanpur, on Friday. Two FIRs have been filed by the police, while the third FIR has been filed based on the complaint received by the assaulted victims. In the FIR, 40 known people have been named as accused. Additionally, 1000 unidentified people have also been named as accused in the case.
It is important to note that the Yogi government has ordered the removal of illegal religious constructions built on roads several times in the past. In March 2021, the state home department had directed the district magistrates and divisional commissioners to remove all the religious places that encroached upon the roads. The state had said that the structures built on 1 January 2011 and after would be removed without delay and those built before the date would be translocated to private land.
Also, On June 3, 2016, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had ordered the removal and shifting of shrines encroaching on public property before January 1, 2011. Reports mention that in 2009, the Supreme Court had also given an order on the same lines. After this, the then Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government conducted a survey where 40,000 such illegal religious properties were identified.
