Lucknow violence: 498 offenders identified, action soon

Lucknow: Nearly 500 people have been identified in connection with the damage caused to public property during the recent protests over the CAA-NRC in Lucknow, Meerut, Sambhal, Rampur, Muzaffarnagar, Firozabad, Kanpur, Mau and Buladhshahr, the department of information and communication in Uttar Pradesh said on Friday.

The value of destroyed property has crossed Rs 3 crore. “In the Parivartan Chowk area of Lucknow alone, property worth Rs 2.54 crore has been destroyed,” additional district magistrate, east, Vaibhav Mishra told ET, adding that 42 people have been sent notices regarding its compensation. “After fixing the accountability, the identified will be given a monthto pay the dues. If they are unable to do so, recovery certificates will be sent to them for selling their assets and recovering the loss,” Mishra said.

In notifying people, according to the Allahabad High Court directive of 2010, evidence is being gathered through CCTV footage, pictures as well as by identifying leaders who incited people to violence, a senior police official said.


“The directive states that the primary responsibility for recovering damages is on the person or organisation who invited or incited people for protests. The secondary responsibility is of the people who are found to be part of the protests,” Vishwa Bhushan Mishra, additional district magistrate, Lucknow, told ET. Friday prayers passed off peacefully in Uttar Pradesh amid tight security arrangements put in place after last week’s violence by anti-citizenship law protesters.