CM in damage-control mode, lines up riot victims to media

One Haji Shahid from Shahpur claimed: “We had not imagined that the SP government will give us prompt relief and wipe our tears so quickly. People in SUVs visited our camps and gave us one blanket and wanted us to be hostile towards the state government.”

Shivpal targeted the rival parties. “Opposition parties were worried as these people had returned home from relief camps. The media also did not show a real picture and focused only on the Saifai Mahotsav,” he said.
Earlier, on Tuesday, another set of riot victims were called by Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh to their residence on 5, Vikramaditya Marg.

The media was later invited in whose presence the riot victims expressed their gratitude to Mulayam and Akhilesh.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Arshad Madani, too, was present during the meeting and declared that help provided to the riot victims by the SP government was unprecedented.

The SP also released an official press release about the meeting.

Meanwhile, the state government has also released an advertisement to TV channels that shows footage of riot victims, claiming that they are satisfied with the relief and compensation provided to them by the state government.

Three minors raped in separate incidents
Muzaffarnagar: Three minor girls were allegedly raped in separate incidents in the district, police said. A 13-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped in her house at pistol point by three men at Sikri village Tuesday, police said. A case has been registered against the three accused on an FIR lodged by the victim’s uncle. In another incident, a 14-year-old girl was raped by a youth at Shaipunagar village under New Mandi police station Tuesday. In the third incident, a minor girl (15) was raped by a youth when she had gone to collect water from a hand pump at Mujhara village in the district last evening. The accused is absconding, they said.

NHRC to meet UP officials on Jan 17
Lucknow: NHRC will meet senior Uttar Pradesh government officials on January 17 to share its findings after making three visits to communal violence-hit Muzaffarnagar, Commission Chairman Justice KG Balakrishnan said today. “Teams of the National Human Rights Commission visited Muzaffarnagar thrice and their findings, observations and recommendations will be shared with senior state government officials during a meeting with them on January 17,” he said. PTI