Bahujan Samaj Party state president Chowdhary Charan Singh submitted a memorandum to the state additional director general of police (law and order) Ashok Kumar on Friday and demanded that the innocent BSP members and leaders should not be arrested over Bharat Bandh incident in Roorkee on April 2. Meanwhile, police said that 10 cases have been registered so far against over 1000 unidentified persons in various police stations of Haridwar district and 49 persons have been arrested on charge of indulging in stone pelting, arson and vandalism during Bharat Bandh, called to protest against the alleged dilution of the SC/ST Act.
Singh said after the memorandum was submitted that the BJP government in the state has unleashed the police on the Dalit community people, particularly those associated with his party. “At least 46 of the 49 people arrested so far in connection with the Bharat Bandh incidents from Haridwar are BSP members. I say with conviction that none of our supporters was involved in the violence that marked the Bharat Bandh-related protest on April 2,” he said.
Though total figures of arrests and cases lodged are available the Haridwar district police officers declined to give police station- wise breakups. While SSP Haridwar when contacted said he was busy at a meeting other Haridwar police officials evaded details and confined themselves to district-wise partial figures. A police officer said that investigation into the registered cases is still going on.
Choudhary further alleged that the police are acting on the dictates of the ruling BJP leaders. “We are sure that the Dalit community has been targeted by the ruling party to scare them away from my party which is the genuine champion of the Dalit cause in view of the upcoming local body elections.
But this would boomerang on BJP and it would face the collective wrath of the community during the civic polls,” he said.
He reiterated his party’s stance that some outsiders had indulged in the violence that marred the Bharat Bandh agitations as part of a conspiracy to malign the community and also his party. “BSP does not believe in violence,” he said, adding that ADGP had assured him that no innocent person would be arrested and accordingly he directed all the SSPs/SPs in the state, particularly from Haridwar district, to desist from arresting the innocents.