Advocate wanted in Mihir Bhoj case escapes custody
NOIDA: An advocate, wanted in connection with vandalising the plaque of the Samrat Mihir Bhoj statue in Dadri, allegedly escaped from the custody of Lucknow police on Thursday evening and is currently on the run. Lawyers in Surajpur court abstained from work on Friday in solidarity with him.
Shyam Singh Bhati, president of Akhil Bharatiya Veer Gurjar Mahasabha (Gautam Budh Nagar chapter), and vice-president of Samajwadi Party in Gautam Budh Nagar, was on his way to Lucknow on Thursday with four supporters to meet party leaders. Lucknow’s Kakori police stopped them on the way and were taking the men to the local police station when Bhati allegedly jumped off the moving police vehicle and escaped.
His wife, advocate Seema Bhati, tweeted on Friday, “There is no whereabouts of my husband... Dadri police has been harassing Shyam Singh Bhati and his family members. We request you to help us trace him.”
Harendra Mavi, general secretary of the district bar association,
Gautam Budh Nagar, said the association called a meeting on Friday to discuss the issue.
“We took notice of Seema Bhati’s tweet and held a meeting. We found that Noida police is harassing his family and conducting frequent searches at his home. Bhati is an advocate and not an absconder. If he is wanted in a case, the police should operate in a more professional manner. Advocates abstained from work on Friday in solidarity with Bhati,” he said.
Ashutosh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, Kakori, Lucknow, said Noida police has shared information with them about the “movement of some
suspects in Lucknow”. “Kakori police stopped the suspects’ car on Agra-lucknow Expressway... There were five people, including Bhati, in the car. A team was bringing them to the local police station but Bhati jumped off the vehicle and fled,” he said.
Abhishek, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida, said Bhati is not in police custody. “Of the four arrested in Lucknow, only two persons – Mohit Nagar and Prashant Bhati - are wanted for a case in Dadri. The Gautam Budh Nagar police brought the two suspects back to the district and produced them before a court. They were sent to judicial custody,” he said.
The controversy over a statue of ninth-century king Mihir Bhoj started on September 20 after some posters were put up welcoming Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to the district for the unveiling for the statue on September 22. A group of men from the Gurjar community allegedly pulled down several posters claiming Bhoj was a Gurjar king but the word ‘Gurjar’ was missing from all posters.
On September 22, Adityanath unveiled the statue. While organisers of the programme had told the Gurjar community that the word ‘Gurjar’ would be added to the plaque, it was allegedly missing on the day of the programme. On September 28, unknown persons, allegedly from the Gurjar community, smeared the names of the UP CM and other BJP leaders on the plaque with black paint.
Ramchandra Verma, secretary of Gurjar Vidya Sabha, a trust which manages the college in Dadri, where the statue was unveiled, filed a complaint against unknown persons after the incident and police booked 150 persons in connection with the case. Dadri police confirmed that advocate Shyam Singh Bhati is wanted in this case.