File photo of BJP legislator Sangeet Som
The BJP legislator Sangeet Som, already in jail, has now been booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) for his alleged role in the Muzaffarnagar communal clashes, which claimed nearly 50 lives and displaced about 45,000 people earlier this month.
Mr Som has been charged with making hate speeches and circulating an inflammatory video on his Facebook page. The video, showing the killing of two men, was found to be two years old, and shot somewhere in Pakistan.
The NSA calls for the preventive detention of the accused for six months without any provision for bail. The stringent provision can only be revoked by an advisory board of High Court judges.
Mr Som was sent to Urai jail in Jalaun district on Sunday, where his entry into the prison created controversy with the jailor caught on camera greeting him as he entered the premises.
Meanwhile, a Muzaffarnagar court today granted bail to two other Uttar Pradesh legislators sent to jail last week for their alleged role in the communal clashes.
The BJP's Suresh Rana and the Bahujan Samaj Party's Noor Salim Rana were granted bail by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Sundar Lal for lack of evidence against them.
Significantly, no evidence of hate speech was presented before the court by the prosecution to oppose the bail. The two leaders are also accused of arson and stopping a public servant from doing their duty.