Not ‘Ram Rajya’ But 'Nathuram Rajya' In Uttar Pradesh, Says Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav slammed the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday saying there is not ‘Ram Rajya’ but ‘Nathuram Rajya’ in the state as lives are being lost in fake encounters almost every day. He made this remark a day after he visited the family of Pushpendra Yadav who got killed in a police encounter over alleged illegal sand mining. However, the family claimed that he was shot dead by police in a ‘fake’ encounter.

“Which Ram Rajya is going on in UP? This is not Ram Rajya but Nathuram Rajya. With mob lynching, police lynching has also started in the state,” he said at a press conference.

"People are not getting justice and the police have become trigger happy. The Samajwadi Party will take out a 'Nyay Yatra' from Lalitpur after the bye-elections to focus on the prevailing situation in the state," he added.

Police claimed Pushpendra was killed in an encounter on Sunday after he opened fire on a patrol team. The initial statements of Jhansi SSP and the SHO on the encounter were inconsistent.

Jhansi Senior Superintendent of Police O P Singh had told reporters on the night of the encounter that the SHO was returning alone in his private vehicle from vacation when the exchange of fire took place, but the Station House Officer-involved said he was on patrol duty with two constables.

Police have also claimed Pushpendra Yadav, who ran a sand mining business, was shot dead after he opened fire on the police officer who had seized his truck a few days earlier.

Pushpendra Yadav’s family alleged that the area police officer-in-charge, Dharmendra Chauhan, was demanding Rs 1.5- lakh bribe to release his truck.

With PTI Inputs