UP: Bajrang Dal workers invade police station

Lucknow: Hours after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath claimed in Meerut that he had firmly established the rule of law in UP, hundreds of Bajrang Dal activists barged into Civil Lines police station in the city and abused and assaulted police personnel and damaged property on Saturday night.

The activists alleged that one of their fellow members, Vipin Shakya, was wrongly beaten by policemen from the station.

According to reports, Mr Shakya was picked up by a traffic police constable after failing to produce documents for his auto-rickshaw.

“I was taken to Police Lines, where I was brutally assaulted by the cops. They then brought me to Civil Lines police station here and said that I will be charged with theft and sent to jail”, he claimed.

Angry Bajrang Dal members, led by its UP convenor Balraj Dungar and Sudarshan Chakradhar of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, stormed the police station and staged a violent protest.

Circle officer (Civil Lines) Chakrapani Trip-athi tried to pacify the agitated activists, assuring them of proper action, but they were adamant about action against sub-inspector Naresh Pal and constable Pushpinder. The commotion soon turned into a brawl after a heated exchange of words between policemen and protesters, with the latter going berserk.

SP (city) Man Singh Chauhan was sent to the police station to contain the situation. All attempts to pacify the agitators went in vain as the mob heckled, misbehaved, hurled abuses at cops present at the spot.

Some policemen were also assaulted and the property was damaged. After half-an-hour of a full-scale brawl, the mob finally left, raising slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

“We have received a complaint from Shakya that the two policemen assaulted him,” said the circle officer. Senior officials are looking into the matter and will take appropriate action in the matter”, said the circle officer.