Azam Khan said UP police behaved "indecently" with the SP Lok Sabha candidate in Rampur. (File)
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has alleged that the Uttar Pradesh Police "wreaked havoc" on the eve of the Lok Sabha bypolls in Azamgarh and Rampur parliamentary seats on Thursday.
According to Mr Khan, the UP police also behaved "indecently" with the SP Lok Sabha candidate in Rampur on the eve of the Lok Sabha bypolls.
"I have been up all night. Our Lok Sabha candidate went to Ganj police station, Kotwali police station, and Civil Lines police station (in Rampur). The most indecent behaviour was by the inspector at Ganj police station. He was violent. The blame is on the administration if polling percentage drops," said Mr Khan.
"If polling percentage drops, the blame is also on the government. They wreaked havoc overnight. Jeeps and sirens were everywhere in the city (Rampur); they took people to the police station and beat them up. I've also heard of some money transfers as well. It's shameful," he added.
"I'm a criminal, I accept...so my city has also been presumed to be the same. They can do whatever they want, we have to endure. If I want to stay, I have to endure", said Mr Khan, who is facing several criminal cases.
Voting for the bypolls to the Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha constituencies is underway in Uttar Pradesh.
The Azamgarh bypoll was necessitated due to the resignation of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly as an MLA in the elections held earlier this year.
Similarly, Azam Khan too had vacated his Rampur Lok Sabha seat after getting elected to the state assembly.
Akhilesh Yadav was elected as an MLA from the Karhal assembly seat while Azam Khan was elected from Rampur Sadar constituency in the state.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Samajwadi Party had contested the polls in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party.
In Rampur bypoll, the BJP has fielded Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi, who joined the party recently, while the SP has fielded Asim Raja, handpicked by Mr Khan. Mayawati-led BSP is not in the contest.
The Azamgarh seat is being contested by BJP's Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirhua', a famous Bhojpuri actor-singer, SP's Dharmendra Yadav, and BSP's Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali.