Why a UP village is bracing for Muharram under police watch

In Patti Shah, a village of barely a thousand residents in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district, the sentencing of 24 residents to life imprisonment in two cases linked to a deadly feud has reopened memories many residents would rather forget.

Authorities have now stepped up security ahead of Muharram amid concerns that the recent verdicts could reopen old tensions.

The convictions stem from violent clashes in 2008 and 2009 between two groups led by Mazhar Haider Naqvi, popularly known as Majju Mian, and Mohammad Shareef — once close friends whose falling out would eventually claim three lives and leave several others injured.

What fractured that friendship remains disputed even today. Some residents point to a land dispute, others to rivalry over the post of village pradhan.

“Everyone in the village knows they were once close,” said Ram Chandra Paswan, the village head and a first-time pradhan. The homes of the two families stand barely 100 metres apart.

“There are different versions, but most residents believe it began with local political rivalry and gradually deepened over the years.”

Residents said members of Majju Mian’s family had held the post of village pradhan for years, and they wielded considerable influence in village affairs.

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The first clash took place on December 7, 2008. According to the prosecution, violence broke out when a procession taken out by Majju Mian and his associates reached the house of Sabir, a close associate of Shareef.

In the clash, Majju Mian’s son Riyaz Athar Naqvi and his private gunner Shamshad were killed, while Majju Mian and two members of the opposing faction, including Shareef, were injured.

The second incident occurred on November 24, 2009, in the backdrop of an election-related dispute, in which Shareef was injured and his associate Nafees died.

On Friday, a local court sentenced 14 members of one faction to life imprisonment in the December 2008 case.

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Earlier, in February, a Fatehpur court had sentenced 12 people to life imprisonment in the 2009 case.

Majju Mian died in 2012, while Shareef, now 62, stands convicted in the cases.

Outside Mohammad Shareef’s home, one of the convicts. (Express Photo)

Security tightened

Police said security had been strengthened as a preventive measure. A six-member police team has been stationed in the village, and additional forces are conducting regular patrols and flag marches.

Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Manglik said the measures were taken as a precaution ahead of Muharram. “No untoward incident has been reported so far,” he said.

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Arun Kumar Chaturvedi, Station House Officer of Hathgawan police station, said police teams were conducting daily patrols to ensure law and order.

Lingering scars

Syed Gufran Abbas Naqvi, a nephew of Majju Mian, said the feud had left a deep impact on both families. Referring to the February judgment, he said eight members of his family, including three sons of Majju Mian and his brother Shahid Raza, were convicted.

Rejecting claims that the rivalry was rooted in land or village politics, Naqvi alleged that tensions escalated after the opposing side gained financial strength and sought to assert its influence.

He claimed that since the incidents of 2008 and 2009, there had been no direct confrontation, but accused the rival faction of repeatedly trying to implicate his family and associates in criminal cases. He said a murder case was also filed in 2010 naming around 30 family members, but it was later closed after police found no conclusive evidence.

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On the other hand, Khatib Sheikh, Shareef’s son, recalled that his father and Majju Mian had shared a close friendship and said there had never been a personal dispute between the two men.

He said his father, who worked in Mumbai for several years, would return to the village and support Majju Mian politically during elections.

“Apart from the two major incidents, there has been no direct violence between the two groups,” he said.

Both factions said they plan to appeal against the convictions.