UP minister refuses to meet families of 2 Muslim men who died in Anti-CAA stir
Bijnor (UP), Dec 26: An Uttar Pradesh minister on a visit here on Thursday refused to meet the families of the two Muslim men who died in the recent protests against the new citizenship law, terming them "upadravi" (vandals).
"Why should I go to vandals' place? How can those who are involved in vandalism and put the entire country and state in arson be social," minister Kapil Dev Agarwal posed, defending his decision to not visit the homes of the two Muslim families.
"Why should I visit those who want to put Nahtaur/Bijnor in flames?" the minister in-charge of the district shot back when asked by reporters to justify his decision.
Agarwal, the vocational education and skill development minister in the Yogi Adityanath government, did meet Om Raj Saini, who was injured in the violence that hit the district's Nehtaur area, and his family.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi met the families of those died in the violence in Bijnor.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday met the families of those dead in the violence in Bijnor.
When a mediaperson confronted the UP minister by asking him specifically whether it did not amount to discrimination, Agarwal retorted saying, "Why should I go to the homes of vandals? Listen to me. Those who are doing vandalism and want to inflame passions, how are they part of society. Why should I go there? This is not about Hindu-Muslim. Why should I go to vandals?"
During Friday's violence 20-year-old Suleman, an IAS aspirant, and 25-year-old Anas lost their lives.
After initial denials, the local police admitted that Suleman died from a police bullet and that he was among the alleged rioters who opened fire at a cop from a country-made gun and that he was shot in self-defence.
Suleman's family, however, denies this and says he had nothing to do with the protests.
Nineteen people were killed, 263 police personnel injured and state-owned property damaged across Uttar Pradesh in violence during the protests against the amended law.
He is Kapil Dev Agarwal,BJP Minister UP Govt.
— Md Asif Khan آصِف (@imMAK02) December 26, 2019
Today he visited a Hindu victim's family who was injured during #CAA_NRCProtests in Bijnor.
Reporters -"2 ppl (Muslims) were also killed,why u didn't visit?"
Minister-"Why should I visit those rioters who wanna burn down Country?" pic.twitter.com/QC6szC1c22
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Five railway staffers injured as van headed to Rajdhani Express fire site overturns in MP
Ratlam (MP) (PTI): Five railway staffers were injured, one of them critically, when their van carrying repair equipment to the site of a Rajdhani Express fire overturned in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam district on Sunday, officials said.
The blaze erupted in an AC coach of the Delhi-bound Thiruvananthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express between Vikramgarh Alot and Lunirichha stations under the Kota division of the railways in Ratlam at 5.15 am.
It disrupted the movement of several trains on the Mumbai-Delhi route, as per the officials.
A van carrying necessary equipment to Alot overturned on the way when a cow suddenly strayed into the middle of the road, they said.
ALSO READ: Fire breaks out in coach of Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express in MP's Ratlam; no casualties
Five railwaymen were injured, one of them critically, the officials said.
The incident took place when the van carrying essential equipment for overhead electric line repair, among other things, was on its way to Alot from Shyamnagar in Ratlam, West Central Railway's chief public relations officer Harshit Shrivastava told PTI.
The injured persons were rushed to the hospital and were subsequently referred to Kota in Rajasthan, officials said.
No casualties were reported in the train fire.
