[11] The riot has been described as "the worst violence in Uttar Pradesh in recent history", with the army, as a result, being deployed in the state for the first time in last 20 years.
[12] The Supreme Court of India, while hearing petitions in relation to the riots, held the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party prima facie guilty of negligence in preventing the violence and ordered it to immediately arrest all those accused irrespective of their political affiliation.
[14] In 2022, BJP MLA Vikram Singh Saini along with 11 others were sentenced to two years imprisonment by a special court which convicted them of rioting and other offences.
[17] In the second version, a girl from the Hindu Jat community was allegedly harassed in an eve-teasing incident by one Muslim youth in Kawal village.
[24] In September 2013, fresh riots sparked off and around 11 people including TV journalist Rajesh Verma were killed and more than 34 were injured after which indefinite curfew was clamped and the army deployed to help maintain law and order.
On 30 August, two days after the incident, despite a ban on assembly of crowd, Muslim religious leaders gathered after Friday prayers and local Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Congress leaders had hijacked the Muslim meeting demanding justice for the Kawal incident and made inflammatory speeches.
[26][27] Also, local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders allegedly gave an incendiary speech instigating the Hindu farmers on 31 August.
The Beti Bachao Mahapanchayat, attended by lacs of people, proved to be inflammatory as it was allowed to be held by the district administration, despite imposition of 144 Crpc in the area, around 2,000 Hindus returning from Panchayat were ambushed by Muslim[29] mob armed with assault rifles and other sophisticated weapons near Jauli Canal on 7 September.
[35] A Mahapanchayat (grand council) of 40 villages was held in Khera, Sardhana on 29 September 2013 to protest against the Uttar Pradesh government charging the local BJP MLA Sangeet Singh Som under the National Security Act.
[5] By 31 August 2013, five FIRs were registered in connection with the case and eleven people have so far been arrested and booked under various charges, including that of rioting and murder.
Police arrested several Bhartiya Janta Party leaders for inciting communal violence including Sangeet Som, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Dharamvir Baliyan, party's district president Ajit Rathi and ten other political activists when they tried to visit communal violence hit Kawal village of Muzaffarnagar district.
[6][41] The Uttar Pradesh Government announced a one-member judicial commission composed of Justice Vishnu Sahay, a retired Allahabad High Court judge on 9 September 2013.
[44] BJP MLA Sangeet Som was arrested for allegedly uploading a fake video that shows a Muslim mob brutally murdering a Hindu youth and delivering provocative speeches.
[45][46][47][48] A sting operation done by Headlines Today revealed that UP Cabinet Minister Azam Khan had ordered police officers to release Muslims and not take action against them.
[51] In 2022, BJP MLA Vikram Singh Saini along with 11 others were sentenced to two years imprisonment by a special court which convicted them of rioting and other offences.
[15] On 9 May 2023, two men were convicted for gang rape of a Muslim woman by a trial court in Muzaffarnagar receiving 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and ₹10,000 fine.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde informed the press he had already warned the Uttar Pradesh government about the escalating communal tensions there, for which Akhilesh Yadav had promised preventive measures.
[60] In a Public Interest Litigation filed by, among others, a reported victim of the violence (Mohammed Haroon), in the Supreme Court, the number of deaths was estimated at more than 200.
A report composed by a six-member team of the Center for Policy Analysis, comprising Harsh Mander, Kamal Chenoy, John Dayal, Seema Mustafa, Sukumar Muralidharan, and E.N.
According to the report, the violence was seen to be a choreographed spectacle in which the SP and the BJP would create sharp polarisation on communal grounds, compelling the electorate to make a choice between them and squeezing out other parties which have been claiming significant shares of popular vote.
[69]The Justice Vishnu Sahai commission, which made an enquiry into the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, blamed members of the SP and the BJP for being involved in the violence.