Lucknow:
Targeting the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government over the deaths of four Dalits in two separate incidents in Agra and Raebareli, Bahujan Samaj Party President Mayawati today said such “atrocities” on members of the schedules castes show that “jungle raj”, lawlessness, prevails in the state.
She said though people of all communities are suffering atrocities under the BJP government, “regular incidents of injustice” against Dalits are a matter of “extreme concern”.
“In these latest incidents in UP, the government should take prompt action against the culprits under strict legal sections and ensure the safety of people, especially the weaker sections of the society. This is the demand of the BSP. Such incidents taking place in UP with regularity show that “jungle raj” prevails here,” Mayawati demanded in a tweet in Hindi.
In Raebareli, a 19-year-old Dalit man, who had been illegally detained, died in police custody on Sunday morning. His death led to angry protests and allegations by his family that he was tortured. Though the local police station’s in-charge was suspended later that, the police said the man – accused of theft – had symptoms of coronavirus.
In Agra, on Monday, bodies of three members of a family were found gagged and bound in their house, where the LPG cylinder was leaking, the police said. Ahgra Inspector General of Police Satish Ganesh said the motive behind the crime was loot and two of the three accused have been arrested after a shootout. “Cash and other things looted from the victims have been recovered. Efforts are on to nab the third accused,” he said.
Earlier in August, after a BJP lawmaker was manhandled by the police in Aligarh, Mayawati has used the “jungle raj” barb and sought action in “public interest”. “It is clear from such frequent jungle raj-like incidents, especially in matters of crime control and law and order, as to what the difference is between SP and BJP governments. The government needs to pay proper attention to this. It is the BSP’s advice in public interest,” he had tweeted.