Akhilesh Yadav's government has been severly criticised for its handling of the Mathura incident.
Highlights
- Akhilesh Yadav visits Mathura where clashes on June 2 left 24 dead
- UP government has been criticised for incident involving armed cult
- Group allowed to squat in city park for 2 years, train soldiers
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav visited Mathura today, several days after the violence unleashed by an armed cult in the city's Jawahar Bagh that left
24 people, including two senior police officers, dead.
Mr Yadav met the families of the killed policemen and assured all help to them. "A judicial inquiry will get to the bottom of this. This incident should not be politicised. Those who are doing it, I want to remind them such incidents have happened under their watch as well."
The UP government has
come under severe criticism for its handling of the incident, as the Opposition alleged the 3,000-strong group was allowed to squat at the 260-acre park for two years during which its members heavily armed themselves right under the nose of the administration.
24 people including two policemen were killed in Mathura clashes
Last week,
the Chief Minister transferred two top officials - the District Magistrate of Mathura Rajesh Meena and Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Singh. The state's senior minister Shivpal Yadav has admitted there might have been "administrative lapses".
Nearly a thousand policemen were taken by surprise when they went to evict the cult - Swadhin Bharat Vidhik Satyagrah - on June 2. Policemen were attacked with swords, grenades and guns and later the group set hundreds of cooking gas cylinders on fire triggering huge explosions, one of which killed its chief Ram Vriksh Yadav.
"I have lost my brother, the least government can do is ensure this doesn't happen to any other officer," Praful Diwedi, the brother of one of the killed officers, Mukul Dwivedi, told NDTV today.
The Samajwadi Party government has already been under pressure over law and order in the state in the run-up to crucial Assembly elections early next year, and the BJP has launched an all-out offensive against it, threatening a state-wide agitation.
BJP president Amit Shah attacked the government once again yesterday over the Mathura incident and the alleged exodus of Hindus from Kairana in the state's west, saying the prevailing "atmosphere of violence" is a matter of serious concern.