"Police remained mere spectator during violence": SP's ST Hasan slams UP govt over Bahraich violence

Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 22 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) leader ST Hasan on Tuesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh over Bahraich violence and said that the police remained a mere spectator during the violence.
"Hundreds of thousands of people take out processions, flags are hoisted. Somewhere someone is carrying the flag, somewhere someone else. This was done by preparing a boy beforehand. He tried to break the flag and obviously, there was anger. He was shot. So neither was it right to take down the flag nor was it right to shoot," Hasan told ANI.
He further said that he had never thought that this 'riot politics' would stoop to such a 'low level'.
"The ruckus that happened after that, everyone saw. People's houses were burnt under the leadership of the police, shops were burnt, people's showrooms were burnt, and the police remained a mere spectator, what else does this reveal? Why did this happen? We had never thought that this riot politics would stoop to such a low level," Hasan added.
The remarks came against the backdrop of a violence that erupted between two communities during the Durga idol immersion procession on October 13 in Bhraich, leading to the killing of one, Ram Gopal Mishra.
Of the five arrested in connection with the Bahraich violence, two were injured during the encounter, while the remaining three were taken into custody, according to Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Prashant Kumar, who also stated that the situation is now under control.
On October 18, the Public Works Department (PWD) issued a demolition notice for the residence of Abdul Hameed, one of the accused in the Bahraich violence, over illegal construction in the area.
Following this, a petition has been moved in the Supreme Court against the demolition notices issued by the Uttar Pradesh authorities to several people, including Abdul Hameed, an accused in the Bahraich violence over alleged illegal construction.
Three petitioners have jointly filed the petition through advocate Mrigank Prabhakar, urging the SC to quash the demolition notices.
The petitioners also seek interim relief to stay the proposed demolition and maintain the status quo as of the date of the notice's issuance. (ANI)