The acquittal of Anant Kumar Singh, former District Magistrate of Muzzafarnagar who allegedly ordered police firing on Uttarakhand agitators at Rampur Tiraha in 1994, by the Uttaranchal High Court has sparked widespread protests across the state.Various political and social organisations staged demonstrations for the third consecutive day today to protest against the HC’s decision, bringing back memories of the statehood agitation of the ’90s. More than a dozen effigies have been burnt by these organisations.Interestingly, while workers of the ruling Congress burnt effigies of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Rajnath Singh for not giving official sanction to prosecute Anant Kumar Singh (he appointed the official as his Private Secretary during his tenure), BJP workers burnt effigies of Congress leaders for not dealing with the case effectively. Women organisations, on the other hand, blamed both the BJP and the Congress.While women agitators stopped trains for the last three days, shouting slogans like ‘‘death sentence for Anant Kumar Singh’’, most college and university students boycotted their classes in various parts of the state.Political and social organisations, under the banner of the Sanyukat Sangarsh Samiti, have called for a bandh in the entire state on August 5 to protest against the court verdict.Meanwhile, it is learnt that the state government came to know about the HC judgement, which was delivered on July 22, only after people took to the streets in protest against the verdict.
