No arrest yet in Fatehpur mausoleum case; locals barred from talking to outsiders
Kanpur (UP) (PTI): Police were yet to arrest anyone booked in connection with vandalism of a mausoleum in Fatehpur's Abu Nagar locality, where plainclothesmen roamed the streets talking to the locals to prevent a communal flare-up.
A one-kilometre radius around the mausoleum has been cordoned off with eight barricades, an officer said on Wednesday.
Media entry has been banned in the area, and locals have been barred from speaking to outsiders.
Members of Hindu right-wing outfits vandalised a mausoleum in Fatehpur district on Monday, claiming it to be a temple site where they had the right to pray.
On Tuesday, police booked more than 150 people, 10 of them named, for damaging public property and disturbing the peace.
The 10 named in the FIR are Dharmendra Singh (Bajrang Dal), Abhishek Shukla (BJP), Ajay Singh (district panchayat member), Devnath Dhakad (BJP), Vinay Tiwari (municipal councillor), Pushpraj Patel, Rithik Pal (BJP), Prasoon Tiwari (BJP), Ashish Trivedi, and Pappu Chauhan (Samajwadi Party).
An officer said searches are on to locate those named in the FIR and the 150 unidentified.
Police, however, arrested the Congress's city president, Arif alias Gudda, along with his several supporters, for holding a protest, demanding the arrest of the vandals.
Congress's district president, Mahesh Dwivedi, was also placed under house arrest early in the morning when a party delegation comprising two former MLAs planned to visit the site, another senior officer said.
Dwivedi condemned the action as "dictatorial" and accused the administration of acting as a "silent spectator" while the mausoleum vandalism happened.
Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Uttam Patel condemned the incident and said he had sent a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking an investigation by an independent agency into the matter.
Police in plainclothes are roaming sensitive areas near the mausoleum, interacting with locals and monitoring the activities of both communities, an officer said.
Tensions flared briefly administration denied the burial of Wahidul Nisa, a local woman, near the site. She was buried later at a different place under police supervision.
Vijay Shankar Shukla, head of the Tameshwar Temple Mela Committee, has claimed that the mausoleum was "Thakur Siddhpeeth Temple."
He warned of a large-scale protest if members of the Hindu community are arrested.
Inspector General of police (Prayagraj) Ajay Mishra has also begun an inquiry into possible lapses in police response, recording the force members' statements, an officer said.
The mausoleum's caretaker (Mutawalli), Mohammad Nafis, said that the structure is nearly 500 years old and was built by Emperor Akbar's grandson.
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23-year-old woman found dead at Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): A 23-year-old woman was found dead in her house in Delhi's Prem Nagar area, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, an official said on Tuesday.
The deceased, identified as Anjali Singh, was found motionless in her room on Monday by her sister and her neighbour.
Police said her father, Vinod Kumar Singh (51), told them that he and his wife were away at work at the time of the incident, while their son and the other daughter were also not at home at the time of the incident.
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According to the family, the room in which Anjali was found was locked from the inside. The door was later forcibly opened by a neighbour and her sister with the help of a crowbar.
Her body was found lying on the bed inside the room, police said.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that Anjali had allegedly hanged herself using a piece of cloth tied to the ceiling fan.
It is suspected that the noose eventually might have loosened or torn off, resulting in her being found lying on the bed.
Family members informed the police that Anjali was a final-year student of a librarian science course from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). About a week ago, her final-year examination results were declared, and she had failed, following which she had been under depression, they said.
The family has not raised any allegation of foul play, police said, adding that no suicide note or external injury marks were found on the body during the initial inspection.
Inquest proceedings have been initiated in the matter as per the law. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death, and further investigation is underway, police added.
