Yogi govt pressing for closure of ‘politically motivated’ cases

The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the state has sought status reports of 131 cases related to Muzaffarnagar and Shamli riots of 2013 from the district administration, along with the opinions of the district magistrates and SSPs concerned on withdrawal of these cases “in public interest”.

“Chief Minister Yogi Adidyanath has decided to withdraw those cases which were filed due to political reasons. We have initiated a process in this regard,” state law minister Brijesh Pathak said.

“Riot cases are also registered under the IPC. If these are politically motivated, we will surely consider their withdrawal,” the minister said, clarifying that only those cases would be withdrawn that clearly smacked of vendetta.

The minister however did not give a specific reply on whether the 2013 Muzaffarnagar and Shamli communal riots were the focus of this initiative.

Muzaffarnagar district magistrate Rajeev Sharma told HT that he had received four letters from the state authorities seeking the status reports of 131 cases.

On February 5, prominent khap leaders along with BJP MLA Umesh Malik and BJP MP and former union minister of state for water resources Sanjeev Baliyan met Adityanath to press for withdrawal of the riot cases against some villagers of Shahpur and Phugana area.

LUCKNOW/MUZAFFARNAGAR: