Meerut was already simmering with communal tension since April that year. The Uttar Pradesh PAC had already been deployed. On May 19, an indefinite curfew was imposed. Three days later, the 41st company of PAC carried out search operations in Hashimpura, paraded all male residents on the streets, and took away 50 men in a truck. Reportedly, this truck was driven to the Upper Ganga Canal in Murad Nagar, Ghaziabad. Later, 42 bullet-ridden bodies were found in the canal. The victims were shot and their bodies thrown into the canal, allegedly by the PAC.