MEERUT, Sept. 30 -- Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan conspired to trigger unrest in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district in a bid to reassert his political and religious influence, police investigation has revealed.

During the interrogation of IMC's former district president Nadeem Khan, it came to fore that Raza wanted to show his clout by drawing a massive crowd at Islamia Ground after Friday prayers ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.

Nadeem told investigators that for the past one-and-a-half years, Raza had failed to mobilise large gatherings in Bareilly. Concerned about his dwindling relevance, he saw the recent "I Love Muhammad" controversy in Kanpur as an opportunity to rally western Uttar Pradesh's M...