Sonbhadra: MLA says he tried to alert CM, letter didn't reach him

A ruling alliance MLA claimed on Wednesday that he wrote to Yogi Adityanath about the situation in Sonbhadra where 10 tribals were gunned down a week ago, but his letter was not shown to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

The UP chief minister was informed through a letter on January 14, 2019, that the tribals' land in Sonbhadra was being grabbed by the land mafia, and they were harassed by being framed in false cases," said Hariram Chero, Apna Dal (Sonelal) MLA from Duddhi constituency.

The party is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh.

He claimed efforts were being made to grab the 600 bighas of the disputed land by setting up a fake society.

He alleged that officials never brought the letter before the chief minister.

The matter was not brought to the notice of the CM. Otherwise, such a big incident would not happened, he told PTI.

The letter alleged that the police, who were under pressure from the land mafia, harassed the tribals in Umbha village and physically exploited the women there.

Chero who is an MLA from Duddhi said the matter did not relate to his constituency but as a tribal leader he had held a chaupal at the village on January 10.

The people there had then narrated their problems, and the tehsildar (revenue official) was also present.

Umbha village falls under the Ghorawal assembly constituency.

Ten people were gunned down and 28 others injured when armed men led by a village pradhan clashed with the villagers in a bid to take possession of a disputed piece of land.