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A few BJP leaders were today detained in the party's bid to hold state-wide protests seeking registration of an FIR against a senior Moradabad police officer for allegedly assaulting party workers in Kanth.
Uttar Pradesh BJP President Laxmikant Bajpai, who was going to Kanth to lodge an FIR against SSP Moradabad, was stopped, the District Magistrate Deepak Agrawal said, adding, he received a copy of an FIR from him.
Rampur MP Nepal Singh, Moradabad MP Kunwar Sarvesh Kumar Singh and Sambhal MP Satyapal Singh Saini were stopped for while at Hapur, Moradabad Divisional Commissioner, Shiv Shankar Singh said.
"We will implement law and order and detainees will be released by evening," Singh said.
Aonla MP Dharmendra Kashyap was detained in Rampur, he said.
BJP MLA Noorpur, Lokendra and MLA Shamli, Suresh Rana reached the Kanth police station where their FIR was received, Singh said.
BJP leader Ajay Agrawal was detained at Ghaziabad, police said.
Authorities had yesterday imposed Section 144 here to ward off any possible communal tension in the area as VHP and BJP had planned to stage protests in Kanth town.
Clashes had erupted between BJP workers and the police in Kanth on July 4 over holding of a mahapanchayat called by the party to protest removal of a loudspeaker from a temple in Akbarpur village, which led to communal tension in the area.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rita Bahuguna along with 20 party supporters were detained and sent to police lines for assembling outside the party office as the party had also announced its plan to hold a 'peace march' in Kanth today.
