When contacted, Superintendent of Police Vrinda Shukla described the transfers as “routine”.
Bahraich: The administration transferred 29 police personnel, mostly constables, from Hardi and Ramgaon police stations in Bahraich district, Uttar Pradesh, to the Police Lines on Monday, October 28.
Areas under these two police stations witnessed violence during the recent Navratri celebrations that had claimed one life.
Rehua Mansoor, the native village of Ramgopal Mishra who died in the violence, falls under the Ramgaon police station area while the area where he was killed is under the Hardi police station’s jurisdiction.
14 personnel from the Hardi police station and 15 from the Ramgaon police station were transferred to the Police Lines, according to a statement issued by the office of the district police superintendent.
When contacted, Superintendent of Police Vrinda Shukla described the transfers as “routine”.
“These are routine transfers, constables have a two-year term in a police station. That period expired, so they have been sent to the Police Lines. These transfers have nothing to do with the Maharajganj (Mahsi) violence. A similar list of similar constables for other police stations will also be prepared.”
Notably, violence erupted between two communities during the Durga idol immersion procession on October 13 in Bahraich, leading to the killing of one person identified as Ram Gopal Mishra.
The disturbance started when on October 13, a procession passing through a Muslim neighbourhood led to an argument between two groups over an unspecified issue, according to the police.
Bahraich Superintendent of Police (SP), Vrinda Shukla was quoted as saying to news agency ANI, “In Mahasi’s Maharajganj area, a procession was passing by a Masjid through a Muslim area. The groups argued on some issues. A person from the Hindu community died after bullets were fired on him and thereafter a tense situation arose.”
Mishra (22) was shot dead in the Maharajganj area of the district’s Mahsi tehsil on October 13 following a dispute over loud music during a Durga idol immersion procession.
The incident had led to communal violence, followed by incidents of arson and vandalism.