Lucknow:
Who let the bees out? It might seem bizarre to some that a high-level police team is finding out how and why a swarm of bees hovered around Mayawati as she delivered her speech at her party's silver jubilee celebrations on Monday. But in Uttar Pradesh, the police are taking its job seriously.
So seriously that it has somehow managed to get an exact tally of how many bees bothered the Chief Minister (1.5 lakhs for those who're counting, along with the police assigned to this superhero task).
It's not just bees who are being targeted. Paying a heavy price for the controversy that has erupted around the 200-crore rally on Monday is Vijay Shankar Pandey, the Principal Secretary of Information. He has been fired for poor media management. A BSP spokesperson was also fired on Tuesday for conforming to the media that the garland worn by Mayawati at the rally was made of thousand-rupee notes.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) shared the conclusions of the first stage of his inquiry on Thursday (yes, there will be other stages devoted to this issue in a state that has miserable crime statistics, including the maximum cases of sexual abuse of children). The highlights of his report include lavish praise for Mayawati's calm and composure for not allowing the bees to get in the way of her party, or rather, her party's party. The police say if Mayawati had lost her nerve, a stampede may have ensued. (Read: Bees at Mayawati rally: Police to investigate)
DIG Rajiv Krishna said, "A case under section Section 435 (lighting fire to cause damage) and 285 (causing disturbance in any public place) has been lodged at Ashiyana police station."
Mayawati's party insists that the bees were driven to the Chief Minister's stage after her political opponents set a mammoth bee hive on fire at the nearby Ambedkar University.
At her rally, Mayawati had said of the bees, "What's heartening to see is that these bees have not bitten even a single worker, and these bees are paying their respects to you and felicitating you." (seems like nature has stepped in to usher change)
The police say it's also consulting with experts on bee behaviour.
Meanwhile, in the past two days, Lucknow has held its breath through an armed robbery at a shop, and a shootout in the restaurant in the heart of the city.
So seriously that it has somehow managed to get an exact tally of how many bees bothered the Chief Minister (1.5 lakhs for those who're counting, along with the police assigned to this superhero task).
It's not just bees who are being targeted. Paying a heavy price for the controversy that has erupted around the 200-crore rally on Monday is Vijay Shankar Pandey, the Principal Secretary of Information. He has been fired for poor media management. A BSP spokesperson was also fired on Tuesday for conforming to the media that the garland worn by Mayawati at the rally was made of thousand-rupee notes.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) shared the conclusions of the first stage of his inquiry on Thursday (yes, there will be other stages devoted to this issue in a state that has miserable crime statistics, including the maximum cases of sexual abuse of children). The highlights of his report include lavish praise for Mayawati's calm and composure for not allowing the bees to get in the way of her party, or rather, her party's party. The police say if Mayawati had lost her nerve, a stampede may have ensued. (Read: Bees at Mayawati rally: Police to investigate)
DIG Rajiv Krishna said, "A case under section Section 435 (lighting fire to cause damage) and 285 (causing disturbance in any public place) has been lodged at Ashiyana police station."
Mayawati's party insists that the bees were driven to the Chief Minister's stage after her political opponents set a mammoth bee hive on fire at the nearby Ambedkar University.
At her rally, Mayawati had said of the bees, "What's heartening to see is that these bees have not bitten even a single worker, and these bees are paying their respects to you and felicitating you." (seems like nature has stepped in to usher change)
The police say it's also consulting with experts on bee behaviour.
Meanwhile, in the past two days, Lucknow has held its breath through an armed robbery at a shop, and a shootout in the restaurant in the heart of the city.
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