Yogi Adityanath-led UP govt recommends withdrawal of 38 criminal cases against 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots accused

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has recommended withdrawal of the 38 criminal cases against more than 100 individuals who were charged in the Muzaffarnagar riots case that took place in 2013 when the Samajwadi Party was in power.

Yogi Adityanath (Source: PTI)

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has recommended withdrawal of the 38 criminal cases against more than 100 individuals who were charged in the Muzaffarnagar riots case that took place in 2013 when the Samajwadi Party was in power. The cases included charges of dacoity, use of fire and explosive substances and defiling places of worship and outraging religious sentiments. As per an exclusive report in a leading media daily, the UP government gave sanctions to withdraw the cases on January 10 and the note was sent on January 29. The Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Adityanath government has come under flak from the opposition parties for the move. However, the BJP came out in its defence issuing a justification that a number of cases were filed against people who are very poor and that the Special Investigation Team left out those who are influential who could have defended themselves in court. Continuing its stand on the decision, the UP government said that those who were ‘falsely’ booked did not even have the money to afford a lawyer for defending them in court. Communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in August and September 2013 left 60 dead and displaced over 40,000 people. The state government had formed a SIT to investigate into the riot cases. The SIT has filed charge sheets in 175 cases.  Police had registered cases against 6,869 people and arrested 1,480 people in connection with the riots. According to the SIT, 418 accused have been acquitted in 54 cases due to lack of evidence.