Under Yogi’s Rule, Rioting And Attacks By Sangh Parivar Supporters Increase in UP

Lucknow: Hours after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath boasted that his government had established the rule of law in the State, hundreds of RSS-affiliated Bajrang Dal workers attacked a police station in Meerut and assaulted policemen.

A free rein seems to have been given to Sangh parivar outfits since the advent of BJP in the state, and this has escalated due to the ongoing municipal elections’ campaign. After the series of attack on police officials, especially the earlier ones in Agra and Saharanpur in April this year, the State IPS Association had reportedly expressed concern over the increasing number of incidents of police being targeted by the mob of Hindu hardliners and local BJP leaders. But the violence continues with impunity.

Adityanath was in Meerut on Sunday to address an election rally as part of campaigning for the Municipal polls. While addressing a gathering in Meerut he said, “It is the same State and the set of officers. But there is rule of law today in Uttar Pradesh. In the last government’s time, people were leaving the State due to fear of criminals and deteriorating law and order situation but today criminals are leaving due to fear of law”.

Later, a large mob of Bajrang Dal activists led by its UP convenor Balraj Dungar and Sudarshan Chakradhar of Vishwa Hindu Parishad barged inside the Civil Lines police station and assaulted the police inspector and others on duty. They were objecting to action against Bajrang Dal member Vipin Shakya for not producing documents for his auto-rickshaw when asked by on-duty traffic policemen. They also alleged that Shakya was beaten up by the traffic cops.

Efforts by Chakrapani Tripathi, Circle officer (Civil Lines) and Man Singh Chauhan, Superintendent of Police (City) to pacify the violent activists failed and the senior cops watched helplessly as activists continued their rampage. After almost an hour long brawl the mob left the police station with loud slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram'.

This is not the first such incident in UP of the police and administration allowing a free hand to RSS-affiliated mobs indulging in violence. It is similar to what the BJP and RSS activists did in Agra and Saharanpur in April this year - for which no action has reportedly been taken against them. In fact top cops who tried to control the hooliganism were transferred from the two districts.

In April, the Saharanpur BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal allegedly instigated an agitated and violent mob to attack the residence of the then SSP Saharanpur Luv Kumar after he did not let the BJP mob enter a communally sensitive area as it may have led to communal violence in Saharanpur. The angry mob attacked and damaged his house and indulged in rioting. When Kumar booked the BJP MP and his aides in an attempt to take action against the rioters, he was transferred. Lakhanpal reportedly met the BJP leaders in Saharanpur jail and assured them that he would not allow any further police action against them or the 200 people charged with criminal cases.

Similarly, Dr. Pritinder Singh, SSP of Agra, had attracted the ire of BJP leaders for taking action against members of the RSS affiliates like Bjrang Dal and VHP. He had booked senior RSS leaders and hundreds of workers of Bajrang Dal and VHP after a large mob of VHP and Bajrang Dal workers attacked Sadar Bazaar police station and assaulted police men on April 22. They barged into the police station and tried to set free five Bajrang Dal workers who were earlier arrested on charges of assaulting few Muslim grocery shop owners. They also set a police vehicle on fire while demanding that the FIR against Bajrang Dal workers be expunged and cases be filed against the Muslim shop owners.

In the aftermath of the attack, Singh the then Agra SSP had initiated a major a crackdown on the culprits and arrested fourteen workers of Bajrang Dal. But before he could finish probing the incident he was removed.