Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said the Muzaffarnagar police's order asking eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners' names is a "social crime" and asked the courts to take suo motu cognisance of the matter.
Police in Muzaffarnagar have ordered all eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners to avoid any "confusion", a move seen by the opposition parties as targeting Muslim traders.
Reacting to a news article on the order, Yadav wrote on X, "... And what if the name of the owner is Guddu, Munna, Chhotu or Fatte? What can you find out from these names?"
"The honourable court should take suo motu cognizance of this matter and investigate the intentions of the government and take appropriate punitive action," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
He also termed the order a "social crime".
"Such an order is a social crime aimed at spoiling the peaceful atmosphere and harmony," he said.
Muzaffarnagar police chief Abhishek Singh on Monday said, "About 240 km of Kanwar Yatra route falls in the district. All the eateries, including hotels, dhabas and carts, on the route, have been asked to display the names of their proprietors or those working on these shops."
"This has been done to ensure that there should be no confusion among kanwariyas and no law and order situation arises. All are following this voluntarily," he had told reporters.
The decision has drawn flak from politicians and members of the civil society.
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Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
