Bharatiya Janata Party workers fought a pitched battle with the police while protesting outside the Vidhan Bhawan over deteriorating law and order that left over two dozen people, including some policemen injured.
The police resorted to cane charge and when the BJP workers turned belligerent, the cops used water canons to disperse them. In retaliation, the BJP workers pelted stones at the policemen in which many, including CO Hazratganj Ashok Verma suffered injuries.
“It is a black day for democracy. The BJP workers were brutally assaulted while they were staging a peaceful demonstration. The party workers were lathi-charged and police used tear gas shells to intimidate us. This was being done at a time when Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was claiming that everything is well in the state,” state BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya told reporters after the face-off on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the police claimed that they were forced to use mild force against the agitators as they indulged in heavy brick batting. “Everything is fine. The agitation passed off peacefully,” SSP Manzil Saini told reporters in her daily briefing on Wednesday evening.
Amidst the claim and counter claim, it was the common man who bore the brunt as traffic went for a toss. All main and tertiary roads in the city were choc-a-bloc with school children and people headingto Charbagh to catch trains being left stranded.
The BJP had given a call to protest against deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The police too had made all arrangements. The area around state BJP headquarters was blocked. The Vidhan Sabha Marg was divided into half by erecting barricades and the same were also set up outside main gate of state BJP headquarters toprevent party workers from coming out. Hundreds of policemen, in riot gears, were deployed from Hazratganj to Vidhan Bhawan.
Initially, the BJP was taken aback by the massive police bandobust. When hundreds of workers failed to reach the party office, it used these people as shields and used them in the Guerilla warfare. It all started with skirmishes when state BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya led hundreds of workers and went to gherao Vidhan Bhawan. When the cops tried to prevent them, more party workers joined and soon the skirmish snowballed into a pitched battle.
The barricades were uprooted and BJP workers used the same log and bamboos (used by police to erect barricades) as weapons and threw then at police. As the crowd swelled, the police used water canons against them. Once BJP workers started pelting stones police lobbed tear gas shells inside the party headquarters.
The fierce battle continued for almost an hour and left over two dozen, including policemen injured. They were taken to Civil Hospital for treatment. The BJP however released a list of 116 persons who received injuries.
The state BJP president said that law and order situation in the state was bad and was deteriorating by the day. “The SP government cannot scare us by using police jackboots. The government has failed to harness crime rate. The party will continue to hold demonstrations against SP till it is ousted,” he promised.