UP Govt. should take cognizance of Mathura violence: Rijiju

Condemning the violent clashes in Mathura, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Friday said the Uttar Pradesh Government should take cognizance of this and ensure that such incidents do not take place in the near future.

"The Union Home Minister has also expressed his concern on this incident. This incident should not have taken place. We condemn this incident. The Uttar Pradesh Government should see that such incidents do not take place in the future," he told the media here.

Rijiju, however, said that he would comment further on the matter after going through the full report.

With the Samajwadi Party coming under fire in wake of the Mathura violence, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav earlier in the day put the onus on the police and said that they should have been 'more prepared' before trying to evict the agitators, who had encroached on the land.

The Chief Minister also ruled out a CBI probe into the matter, saying that it would be conducted only at the Commissioner-level and action will be taken against the guilty following the investigation.

Meanwhile, the death toll in yesterday's Mathura clash has risen to 24. Those killed include Mathura Superintendent of Police (City) Mukul Dwivedi, Farah Police Station SHO Santosh Yadav and 20 protesters. More than 40 people have been injured in the incident.

The incident took place when the Swadheen Bharat Subhash Sena (SBSS) activists opened fire at the police party that attempted to evict the Jawahar Park late last evening.