New Delhi: Reacting sharply to UP government’s plan to recover the cost of damages to public property from those involved in the Sambhal violence, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said it should also release the photographs of BJP supporters who were allegedly seen shouting slogans.
The violence broke out in Sambhal on Sunday over the survey of a Mughal-era mosque, killing four people. A local court had called for the survey as a response to a petition that claimed the mosque was built after razing a Hindu temple.
He said, “The way the BJP has won elections is by pressuring officials, and they have sparked this riot in Sambhal to distract the public. If the government is releasing pictures, they should also release pictures of those BJP supporters who were present during the survey and raised slogans.”
‘BJP doesn’t run based on Samvidhaan but Man Vidhaan’
He added that the BJP doesn’t run based on Samvidhaan but ‘Man Vidhaan’. “They use machinery to capture votes. If a forensic investigation of EVMs is done, if there is any such probe, you’ll get to know that only one person has cast many votes… This conflict is between Lucknow and Delhi. Those who are in Lucknow want to go to Delhi and in the conflict between Lucknow and Delhi – the brotherhood of Uttar Pradesh is getting destroyed,” the former UP CM pointed out. He requested the Supreme Court to take cognisance of allegations that the Uttar Pradesh police threatened the relatives of a victim of Sambhal violence and took their thumb impression on a blank piece of paper.
Taking to X, he wrote, “Threatening someone and taking their thumb impression on a blank paper is also a crime. The honourable Supreme Court should take immediate cognisance and punish all those responsible for this incident by taking punitive action against the guilty government and administration.” He pointed out that only the court will ensure justice.
7 FIRs registered in Sambhal violence till now
Police have filed seven FIRs till now, four of which have been registered by the families of those dead in the violence, said the Divisional Commissioner of Moradabad Division, Aunjaneya Kumar Singh. He added that the police have arrested as many as 27 people, including three women and three juveniles. The police have also booked SP MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq for allegedly sparking violence.
