Mathura Violence: Akhilesh justifies not ordering CBI probe

He was talking to media after visiting the family of SP (City) Mukul Dwivedi, who was killed on June 2 during the drive to evict the squatters from Jawahar Bagh. The squatters, members of Azad Bharat Vidhik Vaicharik Satyagrah, were led by Ram Vriksh Yadav, who too was killed in the clashes.

Refuting the allegations that Ram Vriksh Yadav was his relative, Akhilesh said: “Neither me nor anyone in my family has any association with Ram Vriksh. Not all Yadavs are my relatives”.

Asserting that his government was not “hiding” anything as its intentions were “clear”, he also urged the other parties not to politicise the issue. “This incident should not be politicised. Those who are doing it, I want to remind them such incidents have happened under their watch as well,” he said, in apparent reference to repeated attacks by BJP, which has accused it of going slow in Mathura probe.

Terming it a “breach of trust”, he condemned a sting operation conducted by a television channel involving a few policemen in Mathura. “It is very easy to conduct a sting operation these days. The government has acted on intelligence report,” he said.

While expressing happiness that the Allahabad High Court’s order of evicting the squatters was implemented, he said there was “a delay in action but it is because we wanted to save the women and children living there, who were no less than thousand in number”.

On the death of Dwivedi during the clashes, he said the officer had gone to Jawahar Bag to conduct a recce and not an operation when he was attacked by the squatters.

Earlier, while handing over a compensation cheque of Rs 50 lakh and appointment letter of Officer On Special Duty (OSD) to Dwivedi’s wife Archana, Akhilesh assured all help to the family who also demanded a house for them.

Dwivedi’s brother Prafull told The Indian Express that the family has handed over a list of demands to the CM and he has assured to consider them as well. He informed that Archana has been attached to UP DGP office in Lucknow.

While stating that he will soon visit the house of SHO (Farah), Santosh Kumar Yadav, who too was killed on June 2, Akhilesh claimed that the scheme of providing assistance to families of policemen killed on duty was launched by his government. The CM was also receptive to the suggestion that Jawahar Bag should be renamed after the two slain policemen.