UP Police strengthens security, ramps up deployment ahead of Bakrid

Ahead of Eid-al-Adha, the police here have reached out to the people of the Muslim community asking them to refrain from slaughtering animals in the open, and anywhere except the designated spots.

To intimate them about the prohibition, over 6,000 meetings were held across the state with the leaders of the community, police said in a statement.

"3,010 meetings of the Peace Committee at the police station level in all the districts of UP Police, 3,407 meetings with the Imams and religious leaders of the mosques have been done jointly by the local police and administration," Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said in the statement issued on Saturday.

The statement also asked the community to ensure that "prohibited cattle are not sacrificed to maintain the law and order.

Police personnel have been deployed at 28,260 mosques and Idgahs, where Eid prayers will be offered, it said.

Eid-al-Adha will be celebrated for three days across the state and for four days in Mau district from July 10.

Tight security arrangements have been made across the state by the police ahead of the festival. A total of 2,167 places across 1,500 police stations of the state have been identified as "communally sensitive," police said.

"For better police management these police stations have been divided into 2,422 sectors in which 1,539 Quick Response Teams (QRTs) have been deployed for quick action. Magistrates and equivalent police officers along with adequate police force will be present in each sector, the statement read.

Police pickets have also been put up at places considered communal hotspots and UP-112 vehicles have been directed to be deployed in sensitive areas and routes.

In addition to the local police, 152 companies of PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) force have been deployed across Uttar Pradesh.

Besides, 11 companies of Central Police Force have been provisioned for 11 very sensitive districts of the state, police said.

According to the statement, Uttar Pradesh Police headquarters and district social media cells are also monitoring platforms like Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram to look out for inflammatory posts.