Yogi Adityanath government might withdraw 131 riot cases

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has started the process of withdrawing 131 criminal cases related to the 2013 riots in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts. The cases being withdrawn include 13 related to murder and 11 related to attempt to murder. These cases include charges under IPC sections related to “heinous” crimes with a minimum punishment of seven years in jail. Besides, there are 16 cases under section 153 A on charges of promoting enmity on religious grounds, and two under section 295 A for deliberate and malicious acts intended to insult a religion or religious beliefs.

The decision to start the process on the withdrawal was taken after a delegation of Khap leaders from Muzaffarnagar and Shamli, led by BJP MP Sanjiv Baliyan and the BJP MLA Umesh Malik, met the Chief Minister last month and presented a list of 179 cases. Mr Baliyan had told reporters that the list presented to the chief minister included only Hindus. 

“In the meeting with the Chief Minister last month, I requested him to consider the withdrawal of 179 cases in which over 850 Hindus were held accused. All these cases were registered in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts. We had been preparing the list for a while now. The cases include those of arson, attempt to murder and damage of properties”, he said. UP law minister Brajesh Pathak said, “We had taken a call to reduce pendency of cases and we want to withdraw politically motivated cases.”