Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik on Monday said that the communal clashes in Kasganj were a blot on the state’s reputation and asked the government to ensure that such incidents do not occur again, The Indian Express reported. “Whatever happened in Kasganj was not good,” the governor told reporters in Lucknow.

The government on Monday transferred Kasganj’s Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar Singh to the police training school in Meerut and appointed Piyush Srivastava to the post, days after one person died in the clashes.

The police, meanwhile, said they had arrested four people accused of spreading rumours about the death of one Rahul Upadhyay in the clashes. “Contrary to rumours spread on social media, Rahul Upadhyay is alive,” Sanjeev Gupta, the Inspector General of Aligarh Range, said.

‘Declare our son a martyr’

The father of Chandan Gupta, who was shot dead in the clashes on January 26, on Monday demanded that his son should be given the status of a martyr. “Some people have suggested that a crossing should be named after him in Kasganj,” 51-year-old Sushil Gupta said. “I am not averse to the idea.”

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His wife Sangeeta too reiterated the demand and said the family had refused the Rs 20-lakh compensation announced by the Adityanath-led state government.

“I seek a fair inquiry as to what led to the death of my son and want to see the guilty punished,” Sushil Gupta said. “I do not want any other father to lose his son.”

On January 26, youths allegedly belonging to Hindu outfits held a “Tiranga Yatra” motorcycle rally. They reportedly got involved in a standoff with the residents of a Muslim-dominated locality who were also getting ready to unfurl the tricolour.

Later, gunfire was exchanged between the two groups and Chandan Gupta died. At his funeral Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Etah, Rajveer Singh, allegedly made a provocative statement that sparked the violence. After Gupta’s cremation, mobs set several shops and vehicles on fire. One group tried to set fire to a mosque.