UP Govt to Withdraw Hate Speech Cases Involving Sadhvi Prachi

UP govt has decided to withdraw 131 cases relating to riots in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli in 2013.

Sadhvi Prachi.

(Photo courtesy: Facebook/Sadhvi Prachi)

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to drop two cases of hate speech and criminal charges against Hindu political activist Sadhvi Prachi, two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs and three BJP MLAs, reported The Indian Express.

This comes as a part of the process initiated by the state government to withdraw 131 cases, including 13 of murder and 11 of attempt to murder, related to the riots in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli in 2013.

The two cases that have been decided to be dropped now are connected with the mahapanchayats in Muzaffarnagar before violence broke out in the region in 2013, reported The Indian Express.

The ones who allegedly attended the mahapanchayat were Sadhvi Prachi, BJP MPs Kunwar Bhartendra Singh of Bijnor and Sanjeev Balyan of Muzaffarnagar and BJP MLAs Umesh Malik, Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana.

After two mahapanchayats were held in on 31 August 2013 and 7 September 2013 over the lynching of Sachin and Gaurav, the two cases in conversation were registered. Gaurav and Sachin were lynched after the murder of Shahnawaz in Kawaal village on 27 August. The three killings had marred the district with violence.

The cases came under scanner again when in January, this year, UP's law department sent a letter to the Muzaffarnagar district magistrate asking for details, reported The Indian Express.

The daily, quoting sources, said the district magistrate has not submitted the report to the law department since the Muzaffarnagar police has not yet given an opinion.

At least 62 persons died and a large number of people were left homeless in the riots that took place in September 2013 in Muzaffarnagar.

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