Even as normalcy limped back in Mathura after Thursday's violence which left 26 dead including two police officials, the BJP upped its ante against the ruling Samajwadi Party.
The BJP also demanded from the UP government to reveal the identity of the political boss who pulled the strings in Mathura and thwarted police action against the large number of encroachers at Jawahar Bagh for over two years.
Former president of the District Bar Association of Mathura, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar who filed the PIl in Allahabad High Court against Ramvriksh Yadav and his army, has only added to the woes of the Samajwadi party government. Tomar had asserted that the SP government was in the process of allotting the Jawaharbagh Park on a 99-year lease at the rate of Re one per acre.
"The defendants in the PIl made fun of me in the court saying that I was fighting a futile cause as the state government will soon allot the land on lease to Ramvriksh Yadav,’’ said Tomar.
Meanwhile, former DGP and BJP leader Brij lal contradicted the claims of CM Akhilesh Yadav that Intelligence lapses led to the violence in Mathura. "The state government and Mathura district administration had adequate Intelligence input which is sent on a daily basis to the CM, DGP and Principal Secretary Home. It was not Intelligence failure, the fact remains that the police was not allowed to evict the encroachers due to undue political pressure.’’ charged Brij lal.
The former DGP came down heavily on the policvr brass and said, " DGP Javeed Ahmed is rificuling the police by saying that SP City Mukul Dwivedi, SO Santhosh Yadav and other cops went there for a recee at Jawaharbagh. Does the police conduct recee in uniform and that too with trainee constables armed with a lathi even as the SP (City)'s gunner who had AK-47 with him fled the spot.’’
Brij lal added, "The sequence of events makes it amply evident that the police was not allowed to operate under political pressure from lucknow. Had the police not been under pressure, it would have neutralised Ramvriksh Yadav and his army before storming Jawahar Bagh as was done by the Haryana Police few years ago in the process of arresting Baba Rampal in Sonepat,’’
The top cop reminded, "Sections of the IPC like 45, 129, 130 etc, says that the district police could decide and act to deal with a situation without seeking guidance from superior officers in lucknow.’’
Terming the probe ordered by the UP government a farce, the former DGP said, "The probe by Divisional Commissioner of Aligarh in the Mathura violence is a dirty joke. It was first handed over to Divisional Commissioner of Agra but within two hours it was given to Commissioner Aligarh since the former is not a pliable officer.’’
Meanwhile Samajwadi Party MP from Badaun Dharmendra Yadav said in Aligarh on Sunday that no SP leader was even remotely connected with the incidents of violence in Mathura and CM Akhilesh Yadav will take a final call on a CBI probe into the incident