One person succumbed to injuries suffered in police firing, provoked by a mob attack on Sunday on Armapore police station in Kanpur, about 85 km from Lucknow.
A mob of over 1000 persons stormed the police station early on Sunday morning, demanding immediate release of two persons taken into custody by the police for violating the Election Commission's prohibitory orders against use of loud-speaker.
These two persons had, however, put up loud-speakers on the eve of Barawafat, the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad on Sunday.
No sooner than the demand of the mob was conceded , the retreating mob began pelting stones at the police station.
The cops retaliated but the mob far outnumbered the police and a free-for-all ensued with gunshots being allegedly fired by some unidentified persons.
Even as the local authorities deny it, eyewitnesses claimed that the police opened fire as the mob turned increasingly violent. Of the seven persons injured, one succumbed to his injuries later in the hospital.
Kanpur deputy inspector general of police Daljeet Chaudhary told this reporter, "Five policemen had suffered serious injuries in the attack by the unruly mob."
District Magistrate Anurag Srivastava said Samajwadi Party candidate from Kalyanpur constituency, Satish Nigam, was arrested on charges of rioting while station officer of Armapore C P Jaison put under suspension.
Three protesters were also arrested.
Srivastava said a magisterial inquiry has been ordered and the additional district magistrate asked to submit his report within a week.
According to locals, 16-year-old Shamshad from Anand Nagar of Rawatpur area succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital but Srivastava said it was not clear how the youth received injuries.
More than 12 locals were injured, four of them seriously.
Those officials injured in the clashes included SP (Kanpur South) Gulab Singh, additional district magistrate (city) Mohd. Ayub, circle officer (Nazirabad) Raghvendra Singh and 13 other policemen.
With PTI inputs
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