The workers of Bharatiya Janata Party fought a pitched battle with policemen at various places as it held a statewide demonstration demanding a CBI probe into the Mathura violence that left 29 dead, including two police officials, and scores injured.
The party also submitted a memorandum to Governor Ram Naik making similar demand claiming the truth will not come out unless the probe is conducted by a federal and impartial agency like CBI.
The BJP delegation led by state BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya told the Governor that there is a complete breakdown in law and order in UP and pointed out that the Mathura flare up was a classic case of land grabbing.
"Powerful people in government were helping the land grabbers. The situation reached such a point that two police officers lost their lives. The officials did not take action initially because a senior minister in Akhilesh Yadav government was patronising these squatters. The people responsible for this mayhem should not be spared at any cost," the BJP demanded in its memorandum.
The party further said that the SP government has given a Class II job to a martyred police officers’ wife and the same rule should apply here too. The family members of the martyred police officers at Mathura should also get jobs on compensatory ground.
Partyworkers held state-wide protests in which they put up road blocks demanding CBI probe into the Mathura incident.
In lucknow, BJP activists took out a protest march and tried to reach the CM's residence. As they were stopped, they fought a pitched battle with the cops. Some party workers jumped over the barricade and tried to sneak into the CM’s residence when they were beaten up by the police.
"We want to ask the Chief Minister as why his ministers were trying to protect land grabbers. This government came with a promise to improve law and order but has failed to do so," senior party leader Neeraj Bora said.
In Faizabad, state secretary Virendra Tiwari led a protest march and staged a dharna. There too, party workers had skirmishes with the police.
"Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is misleading the people. The way encroachers were living in Jwahar Bagh in Mathura and running a parallel government. It seems they enjoyed the protection from a senior of minister of the government," Tiwari said.