Lakhimpur, (IANS): Communal tension gripped the city of Lakhimpur in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, after two young men made and circulated an objectionable video of deities of another religion.
The accused are friends who live in a small town near the city. They have been arrested, produced in court and sent to judicial custody, officials said.
“There is tension in the city but no incident of violence has been reported so far… Two young men who shot and circulated the video making objectionable statements about deities of another community have been arrested and sent to jail,” Akash Deep, District Magistrate of Lakhimpur-Kheri district, told IANS.
According to the officials, the video was shot on Wednesday. The fathers of the accused were detained at the district police station.
Meanwhile, tension gripped the whole city with markets shut and hundreds of people rallying around the district police station demanding the accused boys be handed over to them.
“The boys were arrested and the Magistrate arrived at the police station to take them under judicial custody before the situation could turn ugly… people were pacified somehow, however the tension still prevails,” a police official told IANS.
“District administration is on high alert and police patrolling has been increased to avoid any untoward incident,” the District Magistrate added.
The district police believe more people could be involved in shooting the video and they are investigating the matter.
According to the district administration, this is the first ever incident of communal tension here.