Mayawati celebrated her 63rd birthday on Tuesday.Four BSP leaders were booked in connection with an incident of celebratory firing to mark Mayawati’s birthday in Baghpat Tuesday. Meanwhile, there was a stampede at a function in Meerut as SP and BSP workers jostled on the dais to grab pieces of birthday cake, due to which the structure collapsed, police said.
Police said security guards accompanying BSP leader Dharam Pal Pradhan fired shots in the air using their licensed weapons at a Baghpat event the moment a birthday cake was cut in Mayawati’s honour.
“No complaint was lodged but we took cognizance of photos of the celebratory firing to mark the birthday of BSP chief Mayawati photos, which went viral on social media. Dharam Pal Pradhan and Vinod Pramukh (BSP leaders) have been named in the FIR lodged under IPC sections and the Arms Act, while two unidentified party leaders and Khalil, the manager of the venue where the function was held, have also been booked. This is a serious crime. We will take strict action once our investigation is complete,” said Baghpat SP Shailesh Kumar Pandey.
A police officer said BSP workers have also been booked under IPC sections 30 (contravention of license or rule), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) etc.
Jay Kumar Jatav, chief of BSP’s Baghpat unit, denied the allegations. “Guards accompanied the BSP leader but the firing did not take place during or after the function. The case against our leaders has been lodged at behest of the state government out of political vendetta, especially after the announcement of the SP-BSP alliance,” he claimed.
In Meerut, former minister in the BSP government Haji Yaqub Qureshi and his supporters organised a road show before reaching the venue for Mayawati’s birthday celebration. At the venue, SP and BSP workers rushed to the stage to have cake, where Mayor Sunita Verma was also present, and the state collapsed.
“No one was injured. What happened at the venue was nothing but the euphoria of BSP and SP workers to mark the birthday of their leader, especially after announcement of the alliance which will cut BJP to size in the elections,” said Verma.
