UP Minister Sanjay Nishad was beaten up at a wedding last night
Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjay Nishad was allegedly attacked by some people when he was visiting a village in the Khalilabad Kotwali Police Station area to attend a wedding, police said today. A complaint was filed in the matter by the minister's personal secretary Vinod Kumar.
The incident took place late Sunday night in Mohammadpur Kathar village, where Mr Nishad was confronted by a group of people with questions about his work and his MP son's absence from the constituency.
Mr Nishad was rushed to a local hospital with a bloody nose as a result of the row.
"I lead the Nishad community. Wherever my workers are, I make sure to attend their weddings. On Sunday, it was the wedding of my worker in Mohammadpur Kathar village," Mr Nishad told the media in Sant Kabir Nagar.
"While I was waiting for the jaimala ceremony, some people from behind started making disrespectful remarks about my MP son Pravin Nishad and the Nishad party. I thought they might be from our community and I could explain things to them. We brought those people forward and asked them to talk to the MP when he arrived. They asked me, 'You're the minister, what have you done?'" he said.
The minister alleged that when he asked them to behave, the men attacked him.
"My glasses broke, and I was hit on the nose ... They were Yadavs. I won't take names. There were around 20-25 people. Since I came here, people have been trying to incite caste conflicts," Mr Nishad said.
Police Circle Officer Brijesh Singh said Mr Nishad, bleeding from the nose, was taken to a hospital where he was given first aid.
Mr Nishad, who is the president of Nishad party, a constituent of the ruling NDA, sat on a protest at the hospital along with his party workers.
He ended the protest only after Superintendent of Police Satyajit Gupta visited him at the hospital and assured him of action.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya in a post on X attacked Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, saying "hooliganism will not be tolerated in the state". "Sapa bahadur Akhilesh Yadav, your party goons have launched a deadly attack on NISHAD party chief cabinet minister Sanjay Nishad. Strict action will be taken against the attackers and hooliganism will not be allowed to return to UP at all. 400-plus on June 4," he wrote.
Sanjay Nishad's son Praveen Nishad is the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Sant Kabir Nagar and has been fielded again by the ruling party.
Praveen Nishad claimed that the attack on his father betrayed the desperation of the opposition parties and their fear of defeat in the general election.
"Minister Ji has been attacked by some hooligans. This is a conspiracy of the opposition. The opposition is nervous due to the increasing popularity of the BJP. Police have been directed to take action against those involved in the incident," Praveen Nishad told reporters.
The CO said the police have registered an FIR against six people of the village under sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
Four of them -- Raghavendra Yadav, Jai Prakash Yadav, Digvijay Yadav and Abhishek Yadav - have been detained, he said.
The SP said that the police are investigating the matter and law and order is under control.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)