Muzaffarnagar Riots: UP government attempts withdrawal of cases against MLA

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Muzaffarnagar Riots: UP government attempts withdrawal of cases against MLA
Muzaffarnagar Riots: UP government attempts withdrawal of cases against MLA

Lucknow : The Uttar Pradesh government has initiated steps which could lead to withdrawal of cases against its controversial lawmaker Sangeet Som, related to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.

The state's law department has written a letter to officials asking them about the status of seven cases filed against Sangeet Som between 2003 and 2017; three out of seven cases are related to Muzaffarnagar Riots in which over 60 people had lost their lives.

According to the election affidavit filed by Sangeet Som for the 2017 UP assembly elections, some of the charges against him related to the Muzaffarnagar riots include circulating fake news, promoting religious enmity, conspiracy, and rioting.

The district administration has confirmed receiving letter from the government related to aforementioned facts about the cases against Sangeet Som.

"We have been asked to prepare a report based on 13 pointers related to the withdrawal of the cases. The pointers include the names of courts, the stage of the trial, the details of the complainants and the accused," said Amit Kumar Singh, a senior government officer in Muzaffarnagar.

Sangeet Som, MLA from the western UP's Sardhana assembly seat, has been a controversial figure because of his statements and accusations over his role in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.

Since the Yogi Adityanath government came to power in 2017 in Uttar Pradesh, his government had sought recommendations about closure in over 100 riot cases related to Muzaffarnagar.

The government has sought permission from courts to close at least 74 of these 100 cases, but all of these are pending.