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Lathicharge sparks tension
TENSION PREVAILED in the city yesterday as some BJP activists, including the lensman of a Hindi daily, suffered injuries in a police lathicharge and stone pelting at the city?s collectorate area.
BJP activists, lensman injured
TENSION PREVAILED in the city yesterday as some BJP activists, including the lensman of a Hindi daily, suffered injuries in a police lathicharge and stone pelting at the city’s collectorate area.
This happened following police inaction in the Tuesday’s violence by the ruling Samajwadi Party activists during the civic election.
The incident occurred when the irate BJP activists, under the leadership of former ministers Ajai Rai, Shayam Deo Rai Chaudhaury, Harishchander Srivastava, former MP Shanker Prasad Jaiswal and many other legislators, staged a dharna outside the collectorate in protest against police inaction against the SP activists for resorting to violence on the eve of civic election and withdrawal of security cover to Ajai Rai, former minister and sitting BJP legislator.
A strong posse of police force was immediately deployed in the area and SSP Aushtosh Pandey sought appointment with the BJP leaders to settle the matter.
The senior BJP leaders were invited inside his chamber for talks.
As all the senior leaders including three former ministers, former MP and a few legislators were seated in the SSP’s chamber, SSP did not turn up for about 45 minutes.
The delegation left the venue in a huff that provoked the mob that resorted to stone pelting. The police also resorted to lathicharge on the mob due to which some BJP activists sustained minor injuries. A senior photographer of a prominent Hindi daily Mansoor Alam was also injured and his camera damaged.
It was a free-for-all in the city due to inordinate delay in the SSP’s arrival at the venue of the meeting. As the situation was about to go out of control, the SSP rushed to the spot. No sooner had he arrived on the scene than the mob gheored the SSP. The senior BJP leaders brought the situation under control.
However, they could not prevent the party workers from raising slogans against the SSP and staging a dharna.
The BJP leaders gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the SSP for initiating action against the SP activists.
