Karni Sena group heading to Ballia to support maverick MLA Surendra Singh detained in Azamgarh
A senior police officer said members of the group were later released on a bond of Rs 1 lakh each.
A group of Karni Sena members was stopped at Boodhanpur in Azamgarh while on way to Ballia to participate in a programme in support of BJP MLA Surendra Singh and Ballia shootout’s main accused Dhirendra Pratap Singh on Wednesday, police said.
A police officer said that 15 members of Karni Sena, led by Uttar Pradesh unit president Sandip Singh, were stopped at Boodhanpur intersection and were detained at Koyalasa block auditorium around noon. In their support, 19 Karni Sena members from Ghazizpur and Sultanpur also reached there. All of them were booked.
Superintendent of police (Rural Area), Azamgarh, Siddharth said that the Karni Sena members were booked under section 151 of the IPC.
A senior police officer said that they were later released on a bond of Rs 1 lakh each.
According to the officer, Karni Sena had planned to organise a programme in favour of MLA Surendra Singh and Durjanpur shootout’s main accused Dhirendra Pratap Singh. But the Ballia district administration did not give permission for the event.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has served a show-cause notice to Surendra Singh after his statements in defence of the main suspect in the murder case have embarrassed the party. The MLA who was summoned to the BJP headquarters in Lucknow and given a dressing-down by party bosses on Monday, had admitted that Dheerendra was his aide and a BJP member.
Karni Sena’s national vice president Dharmendra Singh, senior vice president Dhruv Singh, state convenor Ajit Singh, Lucknow district convenor Dharmendra Singh, state secretary Ritika Singh, Shravan Singh, Pushkar Singh, Dr Jyotsna Singh, and Anjali Singh were among those going to Ballia.
Dhruv Singh demanded that an FIR on the application moved by the kin of Dhirendra Singh who were allegedly injured in the attack during the meeting at Durjanpur on October 15. Five women members of Dhirendra’s family suffered injuries.
Singh also warned that if the BJP takes any action against MLA Surendra Singh, who represents Bairia constituency in Ballia, the Karni Sena will boycott the BJP
Dhirendra Pratap Singh allegedly shot a person dead during a controversy in a meeting regarding allocation of two fair price shops in In Durjanpur, on October 15. Singh was arrested from Lucknow on October 18 and was sent to jail in Ballia after being produced in a court there.
