MEERUT: UP CM Yogi Adityanath on Sunday categorically denied reports of exodus of any community from Meerut. “There was no exodus. Who will migrate now when we have come to power in UP? The most sensitive areas were Kairana and Kandhla . You might have read statements of some local businessmen of Kairana in newspapers today on the situation in Kairana before and after 2017,” he said while replying to a query in Saharanpur . He later left for Moradabad .

This comes days after local BJP leaders led by corporator Jitendra Pahwa claimed of exodus of more than 125 Hindu families from Meerut’s Prahlad Nagar area. Pahwa claimed that hooliganism and notoriety of people from a specific community was the reason behind people fleeing homes under fear.

“Cases of bikers doing stunts on road, molestation and chain snatching are common in area. This nuisance has forced over 125 families to relocate in the past 4-5 years,” Pahwa had claimed. Apart from his claim, a resident of Prahlad Nagar area lodged a complaint on NaMo app making similar allegations. Prahlad Nagar has mixed population that makes it vulnerable to communal flare-ups.

Local media added fuel to the fire with several unsubstantiated reports suggesting that families were fleeing homes and wanted to sell their houses. Residents from the other community claimed that some locals wanted to restrict their movement on a road that divides the two clusters of houses belonging to different communities.

Later, ADG (Meerut) Prashant Kumar and other senior cops had also denied all claims of exodus.

Meanwhile, in a directive to all UP police officials, Yogi said, “Every police station must prepare a list of top 10 criminals in its area and should work pro-actively to prosecute them.”

