UP Govt to Withdraw 4 More Cases Related to Muzaffarnagar Riots

The final decision on the state government’s requests to withdraw the pending cases will be taken by the court.

Representative image of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to appeal in court for withdrawing four more cases related to Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013, taking the total number of such cases that it intends to withdraw to 80, an official said on Sunday, 12 January.

The final decision on the state government's requests to withdraw the pending cases of 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots will be taken by the court, said the district's government counsel Dushyant Tyagi.

According to the UP Special Law Secretary Arun Rai, the state government on Saturday directed the Muzaffarnagar district authorities to file an appeal in the court for withdrawing four more cases related to the riots.

Earlier, the state government had decided to withdraw 76 such cases.

The state government is yet to decide on withdrawing the cases against BJP MLA Sangeet Som, Union minister Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, State Cabinet Minister Suresh Rana and other leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in August and September 2013 had claimed 60 lives and displaced over 40,000 people.