Muzaffarnagar: Prayer meeting held at Jat men's village

Heavy security has been deployed in Muzaffarnagar's Malakpur village on Thursday where a prayer meeting was held at the homes of two Jat men, Sachin and Gaurav, killed a year ago.

Listen to Story

Advertisement
Muzaffarnagar: Prayer meeting held at Jat men's village

Heavy security has been deployed in Muzaffarnagar's Malakpur village on Thursday where a prayer meeting was held at the homes of two Jat men, Sachin and Gaurav, killed a year ago. The two deaths had led to massive communal riots in and around Muzaffarnagar in which nearly 65 people were killed and over 60,000 rendered homeless.

The Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh, which was reprimanded for its poor handling of last year's violence, is not taking any chances. Eight companies of paramilitary forces along with a large contingent of police is securing the disturbed area.

advertisement

How did the Muzaffarnagar riots begin?
Sachin and Gaurav, who were cousins, were killed on August 27 last year, soon after they allegedly murdered a young Muslim man named Shahnawaz from a neighbouring village for allegedly harassing their sister.

The deaths on both sides triggered the riots that soon spread across Muzaffarnagar and the neighbouring district Shamli.

Prayers are also being held in Shahnawaz's Kawal village on Thursday.

A year after the deadly riots, victims from both the communities have said they are facing various problems like denial of state compensation and confiscation of their ancestral property. With displaced children not able to furnish school transfer certificates, their admission in another school is a hassle, parents said.