Bareilly, Oct. 1 -- As a police crackdown after the September 26 violence here continued, 16 more accused were arrested and sent to jail on Tuesday, police said, adding a key accused was caught after an encounter.

Superintendent of police (SP)-City Manush Pareek said 14 individuals were arrested from the Kotwali area and two from Baradari. One of them is a minor. With the fresh arrests, the number of people arrested in connection with the violence rose to 72.

Among those arrested is Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) district president Shamsad Alam. According to police, he was actively involved in the conspiracy with cleric and IMC chief Tauqeer Raza, one Nadeem, and one Dr. Nafees. Shamsad was also found to be active on WhatsApp groups and...