|HT|
The apex child rights body, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), has urged the Uttar Pradesh police to initiate a probe and take legal action against those who used children in the violence on June 3. In a letter to the Kanpur police commissioner, the NCPCR said that there were reports of children being part of the violence. "The Commission requests your good offices to initiate an inquiry and further supplement the relevant sections of Juvenile Justice Act and IPS (IPC) in the FIR, at once, against the accused person in the said matter as prima facie it is observed that the charges are cognisable in nature," the letter read.
Earlier on Tuesday, a 16-year-old accused surrendered at the Colonelgunj police station after his picture appeared on posters put up by police across the town.
On Monday, the UP police had released posters with photos of 40 people who are accused of invoking the violence. At least four people have been apprehended in connection with the violence that broke out in Kanpur, the total number of people taken in custody so far to 54. On June 3, the violence broke out in the Pared, Nai Sadak, and Yateemkhana areas of Kanpur after some members of the minority community called for the closure of shops as part of a protest over alleged objectionable remarks made against Prophet Mohammed by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. The violence soon spread out to several localities including Beconganj, Anwarganj, and Moolgunj.
Protesters pelted stones, fired shots, and lobbed petrol bombs at police - leading to at least 40 people, and 20 police personnel being injured.
The BJP on Sunday suspended its spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal after their alleged controversial remarks against the Prophet triggered massive protests and condemnation. Sharma had reportedly made controversial remarks while speaking about the Gyanvapi Mosque dispute in Varanasi during a TV news show.
(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)