Mathura Clashes: Sting Op Reveals SP Govt Ignored Intel Warnings

“We sent 80 reports to the UP government but they were ignored,” says the intelligence officer in Mathura.

Twenty-nine people were killed in the Mathura violence. (Photo: Brajesh Kumar)

Intelligence officers in Mathura have revealed that the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP government was warned about illegal arms in the state, reported India Today on Thursday.

In a sting operation, inspector Munni Lal Gaur, chief of local intelligence unit in Mathura, made shocking revelations that the state’s top brass was warned about the dangers posed by Mathura’s cult gang, the encroachers in the Jawahar Bagh land clashes.

We sent 80 reports to the UP government in Lucknow but they were ignored.

Munni Lal Gaur, Chief, Local Intelligence Unit, Mathura

Thrashing the narrative that the clashes were an “intelligence failure”, these revelations by intelligence officers prove a lapse on part of the SP government.

The intelligence officer said that the Up government was warned. (Photo: India Today TV screengrab)

The reports, that date back to January 2015, clearly mention that members of the cult gang, were well armed and can pose a potential danger.

In a report, a day before the carnage in Mathura, a report said by Gaur listed out the exact list of arms and ammunition acquired by the members of the gang and that sufficient police forces should be sent to Jawahar Bagh.

The intelligence officer said that the Up government was warned. (Photo: India Today TV screengrab)

On Tuesday, statements of video-conferencing held between top state officials in Lucknow and district officers on 17 and 31 May revealed that local officials in Mathura were informed that “loss of lives cannot be denied in the operation” and “a suggestion was given to take help from Army, if needed.”

The Mathura clashes on 2 June killed 29 people, including two police officers after an anti-encroachment drive turned violent.