Kanpur, Feb 23 (IANS) Three persons have been arrested in connection with the attack on a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader in Kanpur's Kotdwar locality.

People belonging to a particular community had beaten up the pracharak and the Sangh member over the hijab row.

Kanpur (Outer) SP Ajit Kumar had asked Ghatampur police to act swiftly and initiate strict action against the accused in this regard.

Inspector Ram Bahadur Pal said: "Three named accused, Abrar Ahmed, Sameer Kanda and Shahabuddin, have been arrested and sent to jail on Tuesday. They have been charged under relevant sections, including 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC. Efforts are on to arrest two more accused who are on the run."

Meanwhile, VHP and Bajrang Dal workers held a demonstration on Tuesday in Ghatampur town in connection with the assault on the RSS pracharak.

Later, they reached the SDM's office and handed over a memorandum addressed to the President and demanded strict action against the culprits.

A Bajrang Dal leader said that, in the memorandum, not only have they demanded to punish the culprits responsible for the attack on the RSS pracharak, but also asked to hang those responsible for the murder of Bajrang Dal worker Dharamveer Arsha in Shimoga, Karnataka.

Meanwhile, the kin of Abrar Ahmed claimed that he is innocent. They told the media that he had met with an accident two months ago and could not even walk properly.

"Also, he was not in the town on the day of the incident," they added.

Two persons were injured when two groups clashed following alleged arguments over ongoing hijab row in Purani Bazaar in Kotdwar Mohalla under the limits of Ghatampur police circle, two days ago.

Among those injured included the RSS Nagar Pracharak.

Police admitted him to the Ghatampur CHC from where he was referred to Kanpur.

Police had stated that some people were discussing various issues among themselves in Purani Bazar on Sunday evening.

When the discussion started on the ongoing hijab controversy in Karnataka, it snowballed into a fight between people of two groups.

RSS Nagar Pracharak Bhaskar Singh, a resident of Hariharganj in Fatehpur district, had in his complaint to the police stated the incident occurred when the accused attacked them with sticks and rods.