LUCKNOW: At least 1,000 members of Samajwadi Party have been booked for allegedly stopping and searching vehicles of officials, ahead of counting of votes on March 9. FIRs have been registered in districts like Varanasi, Ballia, Basti, Agra, Saharanpur and Hapur.
A senior officer at the DGP headquarters said that maximum seven FIRs have been registered against 100 Samajwadi Party workers for checking vehicle of seven government officers including an SDM outside the polling station of Navin Mandi, Basti, on March 9.
Saharanpur SSP Akash Tomar said that an FIR has been registered against 15 for stopping the vehicle of returning officer ahead of counting of votes. Similarly, in Ballia, 27 SP workers were booked for the same offence. Likewise, in Agra, a case has been registered against 25 identified and 60 unidentified workers of SP and RLD.
RLD district president Narendra Baghel, former SP district president Ram Sahai have also been named in Agra. They were booked for creating ruckus and checking vehicles of officers outside polling station.
Hapur SP Deepak Bhuker said that 33 workers of SP had been booked for stopping the vehicle of district magistrate before the counting day. More than 100 unidentified SP workers have also been booked by Gorakhpur cantonment police for obstructing government work hours before counting.
Varanasi police had already booked 640 SP workers for obstructing government work on March 9.
A senior police officer said that all these FIRs were lodged under the charges of assault or criminal force to deter public servants from discharging their duty, rioting, rioting with deadly weapons, punishment for criminal intimidation and intentional insults.
