An FIR has been registered against Samajwadi Party MLA Shazil Islam under the SC/ST Act in the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh for allegedly assaulting and hurling casteist slurs at his driver. Complainant Dharmendra who hails from the Dalit (Scheduled Caste) community alleged that MLA Shazil Islam Ansari slapped him and used casteist abuses against him on Saturday (28th October) over the cleanliness of his car.
Reportedly, the Samajwadi Party MLA from Bhojipura Shazil Islam was to catch a train for Bareilly from Lucknow. According to complainant Dharmendra Kumar, a resident of Prem Nagar in Bareilly, he arrived at the railway station on Friday (27th October) night, however, the train was late by many hours and he fell asleep while waiting for the Samajwadi Party MLA.
When the train arrived in the wee hours of Saturday, MLA Shazil Islam Ansari reached near the car and said the car is dirty. To this, as claimed by the Dalit victim, he told the MLA that the car got dirty as it was parked at the railway station for many hours. This, however, enraged the Samajwadi Party MLA who allegedly slapped and abused Kumar.
“Kutte gaadi saaf kar (Clean the car, you dog)! Tum Dhobi kapde hi saaf kar paate ho gaadi nahi chala paate (You Dhobis can only clean clothes and cannot drive the car),” MLA Shazil Islam allegedly said. When victim Dharmendra Kumar objected to the MLA’s casteist remarks, the MLA lost his cool and slapped the driver and threatened to get him abducted from his home boasting that Kumar does not know who he (Shazil Islam) is. “Ghar se uthwa lunga. Saale jaanta nahi mujhe..,” the MLA reportedly said and went away with his gunman Salim leaving the victim alone at the station.
Following this, Dharmendra Kumar dialled 112 to call the police and informed them about the matter. As the incident transpired in the precinct of Bareilly junction, the Government Railway Police (GRP) registered a case against the accused MLA under the provisions of the SC/ST Act and other relevant sections.
“The MLA slapped me and addressed me in a language which hurt me. He took the car himself, leaving me at the railway station,” the victim stated in the FIR.
Meanwhile, Inspector Ajit Pratap Singh, Government Railway Police (GRP), Bareilly junction said “The MLA has been booked under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 503 (criminal intimidation) and the relevant sections of the SC/ST Act. We are analysing the CCTV footage to ascertain the facts. So far, we have not taken action against the MLA as our probe is ongoing.”
The Samajwadi Party MLA has refuted the allegations levelled against him and claimed that the driver was drunk on Friday night adding that he did not slap or abuse him.
Notably, Samajwadi Party legislator Shazil Islam Ansari has often been in controversy over his inflammatory statements. In April last year, the Bhojipura MLA and some other Samajwadi Party leaders were booked for threatening Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saying if he makes any “noise” now, the SP guns will “not emit smoke, but fire bullets”. Subsequently, the MLA’s illegal petrol pump was razed by the district authorities and its license was also cancelled forcing the Samajwadi Party leader to plead for help before the CM.
