Bareilly: Tension continues to escalate in Bareilly after Uttar Pradesh police shot Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) leader Tazeem in his leg during an operation linked to the “I Love Muhammad” campaign. The incident occurred when a police team attempted to arrest him in connection with protests held last week against FIRs filed on Muslims participating in the campaign.
Additional Superintendent of Police Manush Pareek claimed that Tazeem opened fire with a country-made pistol, prompting police to retaliate in self-defence. Tazeem was injured and taken into custody. Police also stated that he had earlier been booked under the Gangster Act and faced a case related to alleged cow slaughter.
Tazeem is a close associate of Maulana Tauqeer Raza, president of the IMC, who was arrested on Saturday and sent to 14-day judicial custody. Raza had organised a protest on September 26 to demand the withdrawal of FIRs against youths booked for displaying “I Love Muhammad” placards. The protest aimed to present a memorandum to the President of India questioning the legitimacy of the police action.
Locals and activists accused police of indiscriminate arrests, including minors, from their homes. Families allege that several arrested individuals had not participated in the protest but were targeted because of their identity. On Tuesday, police arrested 17 more men, taking the total number of arrests in Bareilly to over 73.
Video footage circulating online shows police baton-charging protesters as men attempted to gather peacefully. The situation in Bareilly remains tense, with heavy police deployment across the city.
