Two persons were arrested for allegedly rioting after a copy of the Quran was found burnt in a mosque here, police said on Tuesday.
An FIR was lodged on November 5 against 18 named and 300 unidentified people for rioting after incident had come to light. Taj Mohammad was arrested on November 3 with the help of CCTV footage for allegedly desecrating the holy book.
Sikandar and Kichad were arrested on Sunday and sent to jail on Monday in the rioting case, Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar said, adding that attempts were being made to nab the others.
A large number of people had gathered at the mosque and held a demonstration on November 2 after the holy book was found burnt.
When the police reached the spot, the demonstrators raised slogans and set fire to banners and posters. They also blocked the road, according to the FIR.
Earlier, PTI reported that the the accused was identified as Taj Mohammad, and it was not yet known why he committed the crime.
Inspector General of Police Ramit Sharma said some part of the holy book was found burnt in Fakhre Alam mosque located in Kotwali area of the city Wednesday evening.
Superintendent of Police S Anand said an FIR was registered in the case and investigation was taken up without any delay. He said the accused was identified with the help of CCTV footage and later arrested from Barujai locality.
District Magistrate Umesh Pratap Singh along with Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Ramsevak Dwivedi inspected the spot and appealed to people to maintain peace and not pay heed to rumours.
Meanwhile, police personnel have been deployed near the mosque to prevent any law and order situation.
