PM to visit violence-hit Muzaffarnagar as peace returns

So far, 11,000 people have been placed under preventive detention, while 187 have been arrested and 11 of them have cases of murder slapped against them.



The bloodletting in Muzaffarnagar led to a BJP rally scheduled to be addressed Sunday by senior leader L.K. Advani in Uttar Pradesh's Akola town being postponed to Sep 29.

Agra Divisional Commissioner Pradip Bhatnagar and senior district officials late Friday held a meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including local MP Ram Shankar Katheria.

The officials agreed to allow the rally Sep 29 in Akola, 18 km from Agra, "if the situation in the state remains normal".

The postponement took place Friday, a day when BJP anointed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate despite opposition from Advani.

Agra District Magistrate Zuhair Bin Saghir and senior police officials have been trying to convince BJP leaders that the time was not right to hold a rally in the present circumstances when passions were running high in the aftermath of communal clashes.