BJP seeks judicial probe into Mathura violence

The BJP on Friday accused the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh of patronising goons and demanded a judicial inquiry into the Mathura violence that has left 24 persons dead including police officials.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament from Mathura Hema Malini favoured a CBI inquiry into the incident.

BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma, who is in Mathura following the violence in Jawaharbagh area, faulted the Akhilesh Yadav government for letting the situation get out of control.

"It was the Samajwadi Party goons who encroached on the Jawaharbagh area some three years back and police was not given the freedom to act. It's a matter of sheer negligence," Sharma told IANS.

"We demand a judicial inquiry into the matter," he added.

Sharma, who also belongs to Mathura, said that over 900 such incidents had happened where police had been targetted ever since the Akhilesh Yadav government came to power in Uttar Pradesh.

"It was not for the first time that such an incident has happened. Earlier, similar incidents had been reported from Azamgarh and Pratapgarh," he said, adding that there is 'Mahajungle Raj' (misgovernance) in Uttar Pradesh where goons do not hesitate in firing at policemen.

The toll in the Mathura violence rose to 24 on Friday in the clash between police and encroachers during an anti-encroachment drive. The killed includes Superintendent of Police Mukul Dwivedi.

While 250 people have been detained for their involvement in the clash, the city continues to be tense even as heavy police reinforcement has been deployed.

Hema Malini favoured a CBI inquiry into the incident.

"Yes, I think," she told a TV channel when asked whether there should be a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the violence.

Hema Malini also attacked the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh over the violence saying: "They should have taken care of it."

She claimed she had alerted police and the district administration about the "protest" in Jawaharbagh by a group of people.

"I did not know that this is going to be such a serious matter. But two months back when I came to know that some clash is going on, I asked them, and the DM said we are all handling it," she said.

She also said "it is unbelievable" that such a protest was going on for the last two years.

--IANS

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