BAREILLY: Six police officers, including a circle officer, were suspended after a Samajwadi Party-backed woman candidate and her aides were assaulted by members of a rival party on way to file nomination for block chairman polls in Pasgawan area of Lakhimpur Kheri district. Viral videos of women workers being manhandled surfaced with one such clip purportedly showing two men yanking the sari of the candidate's nomination proposer in full public view.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday ordered suspension of the cops for their laxity during the Thursday violence. The incident drew sharp criticism from Opposition leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Priyanka Gandhi.
Kheri SSP Vijay Dhull said that a police circle officer, two inspectors and three sub-inspectors (SIs) have been suspended. They include circle officer Mohammadi Abhay Pratap, Pasgawan SHO Adarsh, inspector, crime branch, Hanuman Prasad, and SIs - Durgesh Gangwar, Ugrasen Singh and Mahesh Pratap. Two men seen in the clip have been booked as well.
Ritu Singh, the SP-backed candidate, in her complaint, said she, her aides and Anita Devi, her nomination proposer, were intercepted by a group of BJP workers. The rival workers misbehaved, pulled and tore their sari and even took away her handbag.
They also tore the nomination form, she alleged.
A case was registered late on Thursday, in which Yash Verma, Brij Kishore and several unidentified men were booked under IPC sections of "rioting, robbery and attempting to outrage the modesty of a woman".
Section 171-F [undue influence or personation at an election] was also slapped on them.
Ritu’s husband Dharamveer Singh told TOI, “We somehow submitted the nomination form to the returning officer. But, it was torn by the BJP workers. The BJP-backed candidate, who is close to a local MP, won unopposed.”
The Kheri SSP said, “An FIR has been registered against both the accused. They have been taken into custody and sent to jail."
"The accused are supporters of an Independent candidate,” the SSP added.
