UP transfers officers as Mulayam cracks whip

The SHO of Foghana police station,where most of the deaths took place,has been suspended,said IG STF Ashish Gupta.

The moves followed shortly after Mulayams meeting with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav,chief secretary Jawed Usmani,DGP Devraj Nagar and principal secretary home R M Srivastava at his residence. Mulayam told the CM that the violence should be controlled and the situation be brought under control as early as possible, said Rajendra Choudhary,the partys state spokesperson. Sources said Mulayam was unhappy that the situation has not been handled promptly enough.

A senior government officer said the new officers were chosen for their previous experience of working in the region or managing such situations. He said Bhuvnesh Kumar,the new commissioner of Saharanpur,had worked as commissioner of Meerut when a farmers agitation took place in Bhatta-Parsaul and had helped manage the situation.

Around 90 people,including 26 for direct involvement in 17 cases of violence,have been arrested in Muzaffarnagar. The administration stopped Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and his son Jayant Choudhary,MP,from entering Muzaffarnagar. BJP leader Ravishanker Prasad too was stopped at Ghaziabad.

IG STF Gupta said four persons named in two FIRs in connection with the murders of three youths in Kawal village on August 27 had been exonerated after investigations did not find them involved.