Muzaffarnagar riots: BJP workers block arrest of party MLA

Dehradun: BJP workers on Saturday blocked the arrest of party MLA Bhartendu Singh by Uttar Pradesh Police in Dehradun after he was among the four party legislators booked in connection with the Muzaffarnagar riots. A UP Police team reached Singh’s Malisi residence in Dehradun to arrest him but a large number of party workers led by BJP’s Mussoorie MLA Ganesh Joshi arrived there and asked the police to produce an arrest warrant. [caption id=“attachment_1109629” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI[/caption] But the police team said they were there in Uttarakhand capital to arrest Singh on the basis of an FIR lodged in connection with the Muzaffarnagar riots in which Singh was accused of delivering a hate-speech which allegedly fuelled the riots. “The people who have come to arrest me have not been able to anwser why I am being arrested and on what basis… There are no documents or papers, no facts on the basis of which the arrest is sought to be made,” Singh said. Joshi told PTI that the FIR which was “politically motivated” could not be a basis for arresting Singh, an MLA from Bijnore. He said party workers would not allow the police to arrest Singh unless they produce a relevant document or an arrest warrant. A report from Muzaffarnagar said the police is looking for the four BJP MLAs against whom police have registered cases. Besides Singh, the others are Legislative Party leader Hukkum Singh, Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana from Thana Bhawan. PTI