Noisy scenes once again marred proceedings at the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Thursday with BSP embers and Treasury bench trading charges over police raids at the residence of BSP member Vinay Shanker Tiwari in Gorakhpur on April 22.
The MlA's father Hari Shankar Tewari is a don-turned-veteran politician of Gorakhpur, seven-time MlA and a minister in previous BJP governments headed by Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh.
The BSP members which later staged a walkout from the House protesting against Parliamentary Affairs minister Suresh Kumar Khanna's reply. The minister said that police did nothing wrong and carried out its duty in search of a fugitive criminal and searched the outer periphery of the BSP MlA's residence. He said that the police was searching for a criminal wanted for a loot of Rs 98 lakh in April in Gorakhpur.
However, tempers ran high as law minister Brijesh Pathak alleged that Harishankar Tewari was a hardened criminal and was known for contract killings. He said that the raid by the police was at the residence of a criminal and not that of an MlA. This irked the BSP bench and they protested.
Narrating his side of the story, Vinay Shankar Tewari said that the police raid was illegal as it was without valid search warrants and by such acts, the government was trying to intimidate the Opposition.
Tewry also said that the police act was a violation of the privileges of the legislator. He alleged that six youths who worked as 'gau seveks’ at his residence were taken into custody and tortured by the police. He said that he had a video recording to prove that the police entered inside his house in Gorakhpur.
BSP leader lalji Verma said Vinay Shankar Tewari is the only Opposition member to win from Gorakhpur region, hence he was being targeted by the BJP.
Demanding action against the guilty policemen, leader of the Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary said that the dignity of a legislator should be protected and the police should not have a free hand to insult people’s representatives.
During the debate, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath went out of the House as soon as the matter was taken up by Speaker Hriday Narain Dikshit.
later Parliamentary Affairs minister Suresh Khanna contradicted all charges levelled by the BSP MlA. He said that the police under provisions of Criminal Procedure Code have the right to search any premises without search warrants if the investigation officer has the sufficient ground to believe that wanted criminals were hiding.
Khanna reiterated that the police had raided the outhouse of the MlA's residence to nab a criminal who was involved in a loot of Rs 98 lakh from a bank in Gorakhpur on April 14.
The minister, also targeted Vinay Shanker Tewari saying that his father Harishanker Tewari, was known for his criminal record in UP and other states and there were 31 cases of murder, loot, kidnapping and other crime against him.
" This is not the first time that the police has entered the Tewari home, then why such hue and cry," he questioned. later the Speaker rejected the notice given by Tewari .