U.P. Police initiate demolition action against properties linked to Bareilly cleric’s aide

Bareilly police arrested Maulana Mohsin Raza, son-in-law of Islamic cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza’s elder brother Mannani Miya, on Tuesday (September 30, 2025) and initiated demolition action against properties linked to him for violent protests on September 26. District officials targeted illegal structures linked to Mohsin Raza, including a garage built on encroached land above a drainage system. Officials also sealed a marriage lawn owned by Haji Sharafat Khan, another aide of the Islamic cleric.

“16 rioters who had attacked the police party in Bareilly on 26.09.2025 with gunfire, bricks, stones, and bottles of acid were arrested,” according to Anurag Arya, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Bareilly.

Brickbats recovered

The SSP added that a large number of stones, broken police barricades, blades, hollow cartridges, and sticks have been recovered from different locations. “We are analysing the CCTV footage and videos,” said the SSP. 

Authorities are maintaining a strict vigil to prevent any untoward incident. Security has been tightened across the town and neighbouring areas as a precautionary measure, with police conducting flag marches on Tuesday. In some areas, drones are monitoring the situation. The flag marches were conducted by personnel of local police stations and the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC).

The violence on September 26 began after Islamic cleric and Ittehad-e-Millat Council chief, Tauqeer Raza Khan announced protests over the alleged use of derogatory language against the Prophet in different parts of the country, including Shahjahanpur, and after the controversy over “I Love Muhammad” posters during a Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi procession in Kanpur. The poster resulted in Kanpur police registering cases against 24 people, amid objections from right-wing Hindu groups over a “deviation from tradition.”