Keeping in view the upcoming local bodies election, which is due in last week of April, State BJP has decided to raise deteriorating law and order issue in Dehradun. For instance more than half-a-dozen armed youth managed to enter the residence of ex-Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Saturday. This has raised question mark over the law and order situation of the State because ex-CM house is adjacent to the Raj Bhavan. Talking to The Pioneer, Nishank said police is downplaying the matter as if they want to provide undue favour to the accused. When the matter came to notice then their personal had called the police but they reached around 30 minutes late which means they did not want to react on it.
Sources said that an argument over parking of cars in the city’s VIP area, followed by commotion at Nishank’s residence, created a flutter here on Saturday. Although police had managed to nab the accused, it down played the issue because accused were alleged henchmen of former Cabinet Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
An argument ensued between a local ABVP leader Jitendra Rawat Moni and a group of armed men allegedly having links with an influential Uttar Pradesh politician over parking cars near a traffic signal close to the city’s Cantt Road. In 2007, during BJP-led Uttarakhand Government, Moni had won the DAV Students’ union election and was later arrested on the charges of damaging the property of a restaurant, where the staff had allegedly refused to serve him food free of cost, by the police. later, the issue had created flutter in the political circles and Kotwali inspector Mahendra Singh Negi, who had dared to arrest on the complaint of the restaurant owner, had to pay its price because he was transferred by then Government. The decision of the then Government brought phenomenal change in the day-to-day activity.
The area houses the Chief Minister’s residence and the Raj Bhavan. The argument intensified and after some persons of the group pulled out pistols, the ABVP leader Moni drove to Nishank’s residence to seek shelter. It has raised question mark over the law and order situation of the State. To express solidarity, BJP State president Tirath Singh Rawat and leader of Opposition Ajay Bhatt had visited Nishank’s house on Sunday, and condemned the incident. With this incident it has exposed that Governor security was compromised because Raj Bhavan’s boundary shares with the house where incident happened.
As he got down his car and ran inside, the group also followed close on his heels inside the campus, where they were stopped by the former CM’s personal staff. Although the group insisted on taking Moni’s associate Rahul Gupta along with them, they were forced to beat a hasty retreat after Nishank’s men rang up the police, which rushed to the former CM’s residence.
Five persons along with three vehicles having red beacon were detained in this connection and are being interrogated to ascertain the facts of the matter, SSP Kewal Khurana told while interacting with the mediapersons.
Moni, Aggrawal meet SSP
To put pressure on the police, who had lodged FIR against unknown persons, former-DAV college president Jitendra Rawat Moni along with BJP leader Umesh Aggrawal and others met SSP Kewal Khurana on Sunday. During meeting they appealed to the SSP to lodge FIR by name then SSP assured that you give written complaint then police would lodge FIR by name.
Meanwhile, police produced all the five accused before Magistrate Rinku Sahni on Sunday. later court sent all the accused to the Suddhowala Jail and next hearing would be April 12.
Besides, it several BSP leaders lead by ex-MlA Mohammad Shehzad meets ex-Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank at his annexe residence. Sources said that they were seen making request with Nishank to avoid playing politics on this issue.