Advocate wanted in Mihir Bhoj case missing from Lucknow; 2 arrested

The controversy over a statue of ninth-century king Mihir Bhoj started on September 20 after some posters were put up welcoming Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to the district for the unveiling for the statue on September 22

An advocate, wanted in connection with damage to the Samrat Mihir Bhoj plaque in Dadri, allegedly escaped custody of the Lucknow Police custody on Thursday evening and went missing. Lawyers in Surajpur court abstained from work on Friday in solidarity with him.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath addressing a gathering after unveiling the statue of Mihir Bhoj at a college in Greater Noida’s Dadri on September 22 ) (Sakib Ali/HT photo)

Shyam Singh Bhati, president of Akhil Bharatiya Veer Gurjar Mahasabha (Gautam Budh Nagar chapter), and vice-president of Samajwadi Party in Gautam Budh Nagar, was on his way to Lucknow on Thursday with four supporters to meet party leaders. Lucknow’s Kakori police stopped them on the way and were taking the men to the local police station when Bhati allegedly jumped off the moving police vehicle and went on the run.

Advocate Seema Bhati, Shyam Singh Bhati’s wife, tweeted on Friday, “There is no whereabouts of my husband.... Dadri police has been harassing Shyam Singh Bhati and his family members. We request you to help us trace him.”

Harendra Mavi, general secretary of the district bar association, Gautam Budh Nagar, said that the association called a meeting on Friday to discuss the issue.

“We took notice of Seema Bhati’s tweet and held a meeting. We found that Noida Police are harassing his family and conducting frequent searches at his home. Bhati is an advocate and not an absconder. If he is wanted in a case, the police should operate in a more professional manner. Advocates abstained from work on Friday in solidarity with Bhati,” he said.

Ashutosh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, Kakori, Lucknow, said that Noida Police had shared information with them about the “movement of some suspects in Lucknow”.

“Kakori police stopped the suspects’ car at Agra-Lucknow Expressway on Thursday evening. There were five persons, including Bhati, in the car. The police team was bringing them to the local police station but Bhati jumped off the vehicle and fled,” he said.

Abhishek, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida, said that Bhati is not in police custody. “Of the four persons arrested in Lucknow, only two persons – Mohit Nagar and Prashant Bhati - are wanted in a case in Dadri. The Gautam Budh Nagar Police brought the two suspects back to the district and produced them before a court. They were sent to judicial custody,” he said.

The controversy over a statue of ninth-century king Mihir Bhoj started on September 20 after some posters were put up welcoming Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to the district for the unveiling for the statue on September 22. A group of men from the Gurjar community allegedly pulled down several posters claiming Bhoj was a Gurjar king but the word ‘Gurjar’ was missing from all posters.

On September 22, the Adityanath unveiled the statue. While organisers of the programme had told the Gurjar community that the word ‘Gurjar’ would be added to the plaque, it was allegedly missing on the day of the programme. On September 28, unknown persons, allegedly from the Gurjar community, smeared the names of the UP CM and other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on the plaque with black paint.

Ramchandra Verma, secretary of Gurjar Vidya Sabha, a trust which manages the Dadri college, filed a complaint against unknown persons after the incident and police booked 150 persons in connection with the case. Dadri police confirmed that advocate Shyam Singh Bhati is wanted in this case.