Mathura violence: Rajnath smells 'conspiracy', dares Akhilesh govt to seek for CBI probe; toll rises to 29

The death toll in the clashes between the police and encroachers of Jawahar Bagh has risen to 29 with two more persons succumbing to their injuries even as police registered 45 cases against the occupants.

Amroha: As the Uttar Pradesh government and the state security agencies are facing the heat over the way they dealt with the recent violent clashes in Mathura, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday indicated towards a possible conspiracy angle in the untoward incident.

Singh said that if the Akhilesh government really wants to get to bottom of this incident, then they should write to the Centre asking for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry.

Addressing a rally in Amroha here, the Home Minister said, “This is no small incident. If UP government writes to us asking for a CBI inquiry, we will surely agree to it.”

Indication towards a conspiracy behind the violent clashes, Singh also said that it seems there is something hidden in the entire episode.“Lagtaa hai koi andar ki baat hai. Aur andar ki baat ka khulaasa hona chahiye,” he said.

"It is quite strange that such an incident has taken place. I don't know what is happening in Uttar Pradesh," he added.

According to a Zee Media report, on the orders of Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav, the District Magistrate (DM) of Mathura Rajesh Kumar and Superintendent of Police (SP) could be suspended from their posts due to lack of  coordination while handling the clashes between the protestors and the cops on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, the combing operation by police is still going on at Jawahar Bagh, which witnessed the deadly clash between police and a cult group on June 2 rendering 24 dead and hundreds other injured.

The death toll in the clashes between the police and encroachers of Jawahar Bagh today rose to 29 with two more persons succumbing to their injuries even as police registered 45 cases against the occupants.

An unidentified encroacher died during treatment in the district hospital here and one Pinakoo, resident of Azamgarh, succumbed to his injuries in SN Medical College in Agra, taking the death toll to 29, Chief Medical Officer Vivek Mishra said.

Police and state government employees here today pledged to donate Rs 50 lakh each to the families of SP Mukul Dwivedi and SHO Santosh Yadav who were killed in Mathura violence.

Earlier in the day, the Congress cornered Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah over his demand for the ouster of Uttar Pradesh PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav in connection with the Mathura violence and wondered as to why no action was initiated against Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar during the Jat agitation.

Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan expressed his surprise over the BJP president making such a call.

"For Amit Shah to ask for resignation is strange because during the Jat agitation Khattar's resignation was also in place in Haryana," Vadakkan said, adding there must be level playing field for resignations.

Vadakkan also used the occasion to target the BJP over the controversy surrounding Eknath Khadse, saying resignation drama has been the name of the game that the BJP is following in Maharashtra too.

The BJP president yesterday asked Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav to demand the resignation of his younger brother and state PWD Minister Shivpal Yadav, squarely holding him responsible for the Mathura violence.

"If even a little bit of self-respect is left in Netaji (Mulayam), he should get minister Shivpal Yadav to resign immediately," Shah said in Kanpur.

Addressing a booth-level in-charge meet of Kanpur and Bundelkhand regions, he said: "An SP is killed in broad daylight. An SHO is killed. More than 200 people opened fire on police. But a minister (Shivpal) sitting in the secretariat patronises them and does not allow police to retaliate."

Shivpal, however, hit back at the BJP president and suggested him to follow positive, ideological and development oriented politics instead of misleading the people of the state.

"He has become short of issues due to better working of SP government and, therefore, he is giving baseless statements," he said.