A few Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were on Saturday detained in the party's bid to hold state-wide protests seeking registration of an FIR against a senior Moradabad police officer for allegedly assaulting party workers in Kanth.
Uttar Pradesh BJP President Laxmikant Bajpai, who was going to Kanth to lodge an FIR against SSP Moradabad, was stopped, the District Magistrate DeepakAgrawal said, adding, he received a copy of an FIR from him.
Rampur MP Nepal Singh, Moradabad MPKunwar Sarvesh Kumar Singh and Sambhal MP Satyapal Singh Saini were stopped for while at Hapur, Moradabad Divisional Commissioner, Shiv Shankar Singh said. "We will implement law and order and detainees will be released by evening," Singh said.
Aonla MP Dharmendra Kashyap was detained in Rampur, he said.
BJP MLA Noorpur, Lokendra and MLA Shamli, Suresh Rana reached the Kanth police station where their FIR was received, Singh said.
BJP leader Ajay Agrawal was detained at Ghaziabad, police said.
Authorities had on Friday imposed Section 144 here to ward off any possible communal tension in the area as Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and BJP had planned to stage protests in Kanth town.
Clashes had erupted between BJP workers and the police in Kanth on July 4 over holding of a Mahapanchayat called by the party to protest removal of a loudspeaker from a temple in Akbarpur village, which led to communal tension in the area.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rita Bahuguna along with 20 party supporters were detained and sent to police lines for assembling outside the party office as the party had also announced its plan to hold a 'peace march' in Kanth on Saturday.
After being detained by the police, actress Nagma, who contested Lok Sabha elections from Meerut said, "UP is not in a good state. The one who moves ahead for the betterment of society is stopped, while the one who divides the society is encouraged."
"We were just going to Moradabad for a 'peace march', but we were detained here by the UP police. Those people who go to Moradabad for making provocative speeches are not detained. It is very unfortunate that the UP government is curbing those who wish to promote peace," she said. We will not step back in our efforts to promote peace. The moment we are released, we will once again head to Moradabad, Nagma said.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders on Saturday staged a protest outside the District Magistrate's office here over the Kanth issue. They handed over a memorandum to the district officials addressed to the Governor, with seven demands.
BJP leaders demanded that a case be registered against the SSP and investigation be carried out for the alleged heinous crimes committed against Dalit women in Kanth area. They demanded that the FIRs registered against BJP leaders and others be revoked and erring police officials and administration officials be probed.
Clashes had erupted between BJP workers and the police in Kanth on July 4 over holding of a Mahapanchayat called by the party to protest removal of a loudspeaker from a temple in Akbarpur village, which led to communal tension in the area.
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