BAREILLY/BIJNOR: Two Congress netas, Saharanpur MP Imran Masood and former Amroha MP Kunwar Danish Ali, were put under house arrest Wednesday after announcing plans to visit Bareilly, where clashes took place during a protest over the ‘I Love Muhammad’ row Friday.Heavy police force has been deployed and barricades have been placed outside their houses. Authorities said the visits may hit law and order.

We have asked all to maintain law & order, says Amroha SP

Masood was stopped by Saharanpur police when he was on his way to Bareilly. “On behalf of the party, Shahnawaz Khan (Samajwadi Party MLC from Saharanpur) and I were travelling by train to Bareilly and planned to return within two hours, but police stopped us, saying the situation in that city was ‘not good’. People are being assaulted merely for showing posters. The truth is, BJP is hiding its failures behind the smokescreen of communal hatred. They fear losing the 2027 elections, and this is the reason why Muslims are being targeted.”Saharanpur SP (City) Vyom Bindal told TOI, “We are keeping a watch on him. He was going to Bareilly and we prevented him due to the current tense situation.”Ali told TOI that he intended to visit Bareilly with a delegation to meet victims of the violence and appeal for peace and justice. He condemned the “detention of innocent people and destruction of their homes.”Amroha SP Amit Kumar Anand said, “We have asked everyone to maintain law and order and peace. No one has been detained.” Meanwhile, Bareilly police arrested Ittehad-e-Millat Council’s spokesperson Dr Nafees Ahmed, accused of threatening a police officer & making provocative statements.Police also claimed to have nabbed two men, Mohd Idrees alias Bora and Iqbal alias Bundan Khan, accused of indulging in Friday’s violence, after an encounter late on Tuesday night. Police said an anti-riot gun, pistols and cartridges have been recovered from the two accused. Iqbal had snatched the anti-riot gun during Friday’s clash, claimed police.SSP Anurag Arya said a total of 81 arrests have been made so far.On Tuesday, Tauseef Raza Khan, brother of arrested cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, said, “Muslims are facing collective punishment. Police are accusing innocent Muslims of attacking them.”