Violence was perpetrated by a Muslim mob alleging obstruction in voting during the Meerapur assembly by-election in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh on 20th November. Many videos of the incident went viral on social media and a police inspector is seen holding a pistol in his hand in one of the clips. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav called it an attempt to intimidate voters and demanded the suspension of the inspector. However, Muzaffarnagar police countered these allegations and netizens also accused him of lying.
Akhilesh Yadav shared a 28-second video on 20th November in which several women are seen standing in front of the policemen. They are asking the cops not to fire bullets and assuring them to stop something immediately. At the same time, a police inspector can be heard warning some people standing far away while holding a pistol. Several stones are spotted on the road. “Election Commission should immediately suspend SHO (Station House Officer) of Kakarwali police station area of Meerapur because he is stopping voters from casting their votes by threatening them with a revolver,” he posted. He tagged several handles including Election Commission in his tweet.
मीरापुर के ककरौली थाना क्षेत्र के SHO को चुनाव आयोग तुरंत निलंबित किया जाए, क्योंकि वो रिवॉल्वर से धमकाकर वोटर्स को वोट डालने से रोक रहे हैं। @ECISVEEP @SECUttarPradesh@rajivkumarec@spokespersonECI@ceoup#ECI#YouAreTheOne#IVoteForSure#UPPolitics#SamajwadiParty pic.twitter.com/WfiygzqO0t
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) November 20, 2024
Netizens slam the SP chief
People have put the truth in front of Akhilesh Yadav as multiple netizens uploaded the full video of the incident which is 1 minute 48 seconds below his tweet. The mob can be seen rioting and attacking the policemen. Many women are standing on the roofs of houses. Cops are taking cover behind the walls to escape the assault. A policeman is seen trying to chase away the rioters with a pistol in his hand as the footage ends.
क्लिप कटवा है यह भी
— Rohit Jain (@Rohitjain2799) November 20, 2024
The reality of the matter
The name of the police inspector seen in the video is Rajiv Sharma. He is currently SHO Kakaroli. Muzaffarnagar police termed Akhilesh Yadav’s tweet as a conspiracy. Muzaffarnagar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) IPS Abhishek Singh stated that an edited portion of a long video is being shared as part of a well-planned conspiracy. He described Sharma’s action as an attempt to control the situation. He said that action is underway and a case has been registered against the miscreants.
In fact, according to IPS Abhishek Singh, the police arrived at the location after receiving reports of conflict between two parties. Some began trying to block the route as soon as the police arrived. As the police attempted to remove the road barricade, the attackers started hurling stones at them. The police used the necessary force to quell this violence. The rioters left the area once the police intervened, and put the women forward.
According to the information gathered by OpIndia, there was also an effort to bring cell phones into the polling station during the Meerapur assembly by-election in addition to traffic blockages and stone pelting. Abdullah, the son of Arshad Rana, the candidate for Asaduddin Owaisi’s party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the Meerapur assembly, attempted to enter the booth with a mobile phone. When the police stopped him, he started quarreling. However, Abdullah’s clamor did not affect the police and he had to go to the booth without a mobile phone.
