Shoe thrown at SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya, Akhilesh blames BJP
Lucknow, Aug 21: A shoe was thrown at senior Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya during a party event here on Monday.
The shoe, however, did not reach up to Maurya while SP workers overpowered the alleged assailant and thrashed him.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav blamed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the incident that took place at the party's one-day 'mahasammelan' at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan.
According to police, the alleged assailant, Akash Saini, came there dressed as a lawyer.
"The accused was taken to a hospital and further details will be known after questioning him," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Lucknow) Aniandy Vikram Singh told PTI.
"We cannot talk to him right now as he is injured due to the beating. He has been referred to Balrampur Hospital and his treatment is going on," the officer told PTI when asked about the background of the assailant.
The SP chief, who was scheduled to address the event but had not reached the venue at the time of the incident, alleged that the assailant was a BJP member.
"The BJP is behind this... A similar incident happened in Ghosi on Sunday and BJP men were behind it. The BJP is targeting us so that we cannot discuss the issue of honour and rights given in the Constitution by Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar," Yadav told reporters.
A man threw ink at former Uttar Pradesh minister and BJP candidate for the Ghosi Assembly bypoll in Mau district Dara Singh Chauhan on Sunday. He told police that he acted at the behest of a local BJP leader.
Police, however, denied his allegation that local BJP leader Prince Yadav had a role in the incident.
"The BJP wants such incidents to happen so that discussions cannot be held on core issues. The BJP talks of zero tolerance (towards crime)... and this is the law and order situation. We all are people's representatives, we are answerable to people. If we are not secure, what will we say to them? If someone comes masquerading as a media person and throws a bomb at us, what will we do?" he said.
Yadav said those leaders who are getting targeted must be given security by the state government.
"In Mau (incident), a BJP worker was involved... there must be a BJP worker behind this (shoe-throwing incident) too," he said.
Maurya, a prominent OBC leader in Uttar Pradesh who had defected to the SP from the BJP just before the 2022 Assembly elections, has been in the thick of a controversy over his remarks on the Ramcharitmanas and Hindu temples.
VIDEO | A man dressed up as an advocate hurls shoe at Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya in Lucknow. The attacker was later roughed up by Maurya's supporters. More details are awaited. pic.twitter.com/OQCU5G3xVE
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 21, 2023
Video of shoe being hurled at Samajwadi party leader Swami Prasad Maurya during a function at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow. Accused has been detained by the police. pic.twitter.com/e1zsuZunRn
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) August 21, 2023
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Unnao rape case: SC sets aside order suspending Sengar's life term, asks HC to decide plea afresh
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday set aside a Delhi High Court order suspending the life sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case and asked it to decide the plea afresh.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also asked the high court to make endeavours to decide the main plea of Sengar against his conviction and life imprisonment in the case within two months.
It further said that if it was not possible for the high court to decide the main plea expeditiously, then it should pass an order on a plea of Sengar seeking the suspension of the life term in the case before the start of the summer vacation there.
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The bench, which had earlier set aside the HC order granting bail to Sengar after a huge public uproar over the issue, said that it did not express any opinion on the merits of the case and the high court could proceed with it afresh.
The CJI also asked the HC to decide afresh issues like whether an MLA can be treated as a public servant for being prosecuted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Earlier, the top court had deferred to the first week of May the hearing on a petition filed by the CBI challenging the suspension of life imprisonment of the former MLA in the rape case.
On December 29 last year, the top court stayed the Delhi High Court order suspending Sengar's life sentence and said he shall not be released from custody.
In its order dated December 23, 2025, the Delhi High Court had said that Sengar had been convicted under Section 5 (C) (aggravated penetrative sexual assault by a public servant) of the POCSO Act but an elected representative does not fit the definition of a "public servant" under Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.
The high court had suspended the jail term of Sengar, who was serving life imprisonment in the Unnao rape case, till the pendency of his appeal, saying he had already served seven years and five months in prison.
The high court order has sparked criticism from various sections of society and protests were held by the victim, her family and activists.
