By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net
The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government is mulling to withdraw nine cases against BJP leaders in relation to 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.
The information was revealed when district administration at Muzaffarnagar received a letter from a state minister. The letter asked the district officials – especially District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police – the possibility of withdrawing cases against Suresh Rana, Sanjiv Balyan, Sadhvi Prachi, Bhartendu Singh and Umesh Malik.
According to a report published by Press Trust of India, the letter to the DM Muzaffarnagar, dated January 5, was sent by the district magistrate, Special Secretary and Uttar Pradesh Department of Justice Raj Singh. Singh has sought information on 13 points, including whether the cases could be withdrawn in public interest. The letter also sought the opinion of the Muzaffarnagar senior superintendent of police.
The letter in question does not specifically mention the names of the leaders but mentions the file numbers pertaining to the cases in which these individuals are named, reported PTI.
Yogi Adityanath, the CM of Uttar Pradesh, recently announced that his government will withdraw cases on political personalities. But there was very little mention of whether these ‘political cases’ will include the criminal cases too.
The accused BJP leaders took part in the ‘Mahapanchayat’ during the last week of August 2013, which led to the riot in Muzaffarnagar following the hate speeches of these individuals. More than 60 individuals lost their lives while several thousand were displaced and still living in temporary shelters provided them for rehabilitation just after the riots in Muzaffarnagar.
When TwoCircles.net tried to confirm the letter with the administrative officials, they denied any such letter from the administration. But sources on the ground have confirmed the claim.