In a crackdown on protesters, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, headed by Yogi Adityanath in northern Uttar Pradeshb, has shuttered at least 67 shops in Muzaffarnagar district of the state in connection with the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act.
Adityanath had announced that losses incurred when the vandals destroyed public property would be recovered from those found to have been involved in the violence. These properties of the vandals were sealed to recover the loss.
The state administration had setup a 4-member panel to identify the vandals involved in protests and assess the damage to public property from CCTV footage and video recording of the incidents from across the state to recover losses.
"We have got CCTV footage and so far identified 25 people involved in the violence. FIRs (First Information Reports) are being registered and the process of attaching their properties and further actions as needed has begun," District Magistrate Aunjaneya Singh of neighbouring Rampur was quoted by news agency PTI.
Several parts of the state are still affected by heightened security measures and internet service there has been cut.
Major clashes were witnessed in Uttar Pradesh on 20 December in which vehicles were set ablaze, public properties vandalised as people hit the streets defying prohibitory orders to show their anger against the citizenship law. Police had to repeatedly use teargas and pellet guns to disperse protesters.
So far more than 705 people have been arrested and 10,900 have official complaints registered against them, according to police sources. As many as 405 weapons were also seized.
