Clashes begin as migrants return to their villages in UP

Lucknow (IANS) Clashes are now being reported from several districts as migrants return to their villages.

The clashes are mainly due to refusal of villagers in allowing the returnees to stay in their homes vein after completing the quarantine period.

In some cases, clashes have been reported from within the families over property issues.

Around two dozen cases of clashes have been reported in Prayagraj range alone in the past five days.

The highest number of 15 incidents of clashes were reported in the neighbouring Pratapgarh district where one person died and left more than a dozen injured in separate cases.

Additional SP (Pratapgarh) Surendra Dwivedi said that there were over a dozen incidents where migrants had clashed either within their family or with other people of the same villages over different issues.

He said that majority of the migrants were drivers by profession who had been driving their own taxis or autos for the past one decade.

"Once they returned to their native village during lockdown, they developed conflicts within their own family over domestic as well as property issues. The verbal disputes took a violent turn and left family members injured. The migrants are also involved in scuffles with people of the same village after they are called 'corona carriers'," he said.

In another incident reported from Teunga village in Pratapgarh district, a 32-year old migrant was allegedly killed by a group of nine villagers after they had clashed over petty dispute.

Though police claimed to have solved the case with the arrest of five persons but the incident sparked off tension in the village.

Inspector General (Prayagraj) K.P. Singh said: "We have issued instructions to all police chiefs in the Prayagraj range to take corrective measures and each police station of the range has been asked to maintain the data and details of the migrants returning to their native places during the lockdown".

He also asked police officials to maintain dispute register at all police stations of the range and act promptly so that a dispute does not turn into a fatal incident. Cops have also been asked to intensify patrolling in identified villages where more migrants had returned as compared to other areas.