Ballia firing: UP BJP issues show-cause notice to MLA for backing main accused
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP has issued a show-cause notice to its MLA Surendra Singh for making statements in support of Dhirendra Pratap Singh, a local party leader who has been arrested for allegedly murdering a man.
Surendra Singh, the MLA from Bairia, has been given a week's time to respond to the notice and asked not to make unnecessary statements, state BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh told PTI on Tuesday.
Surendra Singh has come out in support of Dhirendra Pratap Singh, who allegedly shot dead a 46-year-old man in Ballia district's Durjanpur village following a quarrel over the allotment of ration shops on October 15.
The Bairia MLA has said Dhirendra Pratap Singh "opened fire in self-defence" as "it was a do-or-die situation for him". He has also accused the administration of bias and demanded that action be taken against the other side.
Swatantra Dev Singh said Surendra Singh has been asked to let the law take its course.
"Yes, a notice has been issued to Surendra Singh, and he has been asked to refrain from making unnecessary statements. He has been given a week's time to explain his stand," the state BJP chief said.
Asked when the notice was issued to Surendra Singh, Swatantra Dev initially said it was issued on Monday. However, later he said the notice was issued on Sunday.
He also said BJP national president J P Nadda had sought information on the matter on phone. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Surendra Singh had said he was standing with justice.
He said while the person who fired bullets has been arrested, action should also be taken against those who wielded sticks and pelted stones.
"A case should also be registered from the other side (Dhirendra Pratap Singh). Action should be taken against both sides as per their role," he said.
Surendra Singh has also sought a CB-CID probe in the case.
Earlier, he had told reporters, "Dhirendra Pratap Singh opened fire in self-defence or else dozens of his family and associates would have been killed... He had no other option. It was a do-or-die situation fro him."
He claimed six people from Dhirendra Pratap Singh's group were injured in the incident and one of them was hospitalised in Varanasi but nobody was listening to them.
So far, police have arrested 10 people in the Ballia firing case, including Dhirendra Pratap Singh. An FIR has been lodged against around 30 people, most of whom are yet to be identified.
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Poll boycott in Chamarajnagar village: Govt officers, voter injured; booth, EVM destroyed by protest
Chamarajnagar: In an untoward incident reported from Indiganatta village under the Mahadeshwara Hills Gram Panchayat administration limits in Hanur taluk, government officials were injured as they attempted at pacifying a group of angry voters who had declared they were boycotting the polls on Friday.
Tahsildar Guruprasad and Taluk Panchayat Chief Officer Umesh and a police inspector were reportedly injured in the clash. In addition, the protesters are learned to have destroyed the polling booth, including the electronic voting machine (EVM), set up in the village. One of the voters who visited the booth was reportedly injured in the head in the incident.
Angry over the non-availability of infrastructure in their village, the voters in Indiganatta declared that they would not exercise their right to franchise on Friday. Guruprasad, Umesh and the police officer, who were informed of the boycott, visited Indiganatta to appease the voters and get them to cast vote. The group of voters, however, directed their anger at the officers, resulting in the trio being injured.
The protesters in Indiganatta were not only adamant about their boycott, but also infuriated by the sight of other voters in the village cast ballot at the polling booth. In anger, they initially had an argument with the voters but later forced their way into the booth and reportedly destroyed the EVM there.
Polling is currently reported to have been stalled in Indiganatta due to the violent incident.
