LUCKNOW: With the situation showing improvement, curfew was relaxed for five hours on Wednesday in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar while Baghpat witnessed a communal clash, leaving a constable injured.

District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said the situation in Muzaffarnagar was under control and no untoward incident was reported.

“Curfew was relaxed from 12 noon till 4pm and later extended till 5pm in Kotwali, Civil Lines and Nai Mandi areas of the district,” IG (special task force) Ashish Gupta told reporters.

Hindu and Muslims clashed in Tirthal village in Baghpat during which stones were pelted at each other. A constable sustained head injuries, Mr Gupta said.

The administration had imposed curfew in Kotwali, Civil Lines and Nai Mandi areas of the district on Saturday following the communal flare-up. On Tuesday, curfew was relaxed for two-and-a-half hours in these areas.

Forty people have died in the clashes in various districts of western Uttar Pradesh. Apart from 34 deaths in Muzaffarnagar, two have been reported from Meerut, one each have been reported from Hapur, Baghpat, Saharapur and Shamli.

In Agra, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav alleged that some political parties were trying to take advantage of the situation in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas and stirring up trouble.

“If we do not remain alert then such incidents will be repeated, because some people on whom the people of Uttar Pradesh did not trust will try to take advantage [of the situation],” he cautioned.

By arrangement with Times of India