UP Govt. to withdraw 7cases against BJP MLA Sangeet Som.
LUCKNOW : The Yogi Adityanath government is preparing to withdraw seven cases registered against Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Sangeet Som. According to sources, these cases were registered against Som during the 2013 riots, violation of Section 144 in Saharanpur and Gautam Buddh Nagar and taking out a procession in Sardhana, Som’s parliamentary constituency.
The BJP MLA was charged with inciting riots in Muzaffarnagar by giving provocative speeches. The government has sought the details of cases against Som and sources in the law department said that these cases would be withdrawn.
The BJP government in UP has initiated the process of withdrawing 74 cases related to riots but the court was yet to give permission for the same. Meanwhile, Som said that the cases were registered against him due to political reasons by the then Samajwadi Party.
“The police has not even filed a chargesheet in some cases. It is good if the government is withdrawing these false cases,” he said.
The state’s law department has written to officials, asking for the status of seven cases filed against Mr Som between 2003 and 2017. Three of the cases are linked to the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013, in which more than 60 people lost their lives.
According to the election affidavit filed by Sangeet Som for the 2017 UP assembly elections, some of the charges against him related to the Muzaffarnagar riots include circulating fake news, promoting religious enmity, conspiracy, and rioting.
The district administration admitted that they received a letter from the government this morning and that the list of cases includes one from 2013.
“We have been asked to prepare a report based on 13 pointers related to the withdrawal of the cases. The pointers include the names of courts, the stage of the trial, the details of the complainants and the accused,” said Amit Kumar Singh, a senior government officer in Muzaffarnagar.
The administration says they will inquire about the progress of the cases in local court, file a report and send it to the UP government’s law department.
A call will be taken by the law department and if the government decides to withdraw the cases, it will have to approach the local courts, where the cases are being heard or are pending. The court’s decision will be final.
Sangeet Som, MLA from the western UP’s Sardhana assembly seat, has been a controversial figure because of his statements and accusations over his role in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.
Since the Yogi Adityanath government came to power in 2017 in Uttar Pradesh, his government had sought recommendations about closure in over 100 riot cases related to Muzaffarnagar. The government has sought permission from courts to close at least 74 of these 100 cases, but all of these are pending.
The communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in August and September of 2013 had claimed more than 65 lives while over 40,000 people were displaced.
Following the violence, over 500 cases were registered against around 1,455 persons at police stations in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli by the then Samajwadi Party government. The BJP government had earlier withdrawn several such cases lodged against the BJP leaders during the SP and BSP regime owing to political rivalry and alleged vendetta.
Special secretary, state administration, Ram Vilas Singh has sought the details of the cases registered against Som from all the four districts.The Yogi Govt. in Uttar Pradesh has initiated the process of withdrawing 74 cases related to riots but the court was yet to give permission for the same.
Meanwhile, Som said that the cases were registered against him due to political reasons by the Samajwadi Party. “The police have not even filed a chargesheet in some cases. It is good if the government is withdrawing these false and fabricated cases to harass me,” he said.(With Agency Inputs ).
