The state government issued an order for the withdrawal of the case in July this year, but due to some confusion, it could not be moved in the court, Rampur District Government Counsel Dalvinder Singh said. (Express File)
A local court in Rampur has allowed the Uttar Pradesh government’s application to withdraw a case in which policemen were attacked and a police jeep was set on fire by protesters following two road accidents involving deaths of eight people in Rampur in 2007.
Among the 16 accused in the case are BJP leader and former Milak Nagar Panchayat chairman Deeksha Gangwar and her husband, Narendra Singh Gangwar.
Deeksha is the vice-president of BJP’s state Mahila Morcha wing and had won the panchayat chairperson election in 2000 as a Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate and in 2006 as an Independent. The couple joined the BJP in 2014.
“The state government’s plea for withdrawing the case was filed in a local court on December 3. Additional District and Sessions Judge Rashmi Rani allowed the application on Monday,” said Rampur District Government Counsel Dalvinder Singh.
Defence counsel SS Kapoor said the court was hearing the final arguments.
“The case was politically motivated. Our opponents got us framed. My husband and I were sent to jail in the case,” said Deeksha. Moradabad BJP president Raj Pal Singh Chauhan said Deeksha’s husband Kunawar Narendra is not holding any position in the party.
According to prosecution, the case dates back to January 27, 2007 when a truck carrying ‘sheera’ ran over two youths on Lucknow-Delhi highway in Rampur. A jeep skidded off the road made slippery due to ‘sheera’, killing six Shiksha Mitras and injuring others.
Upset with the police for allegedly not clearing ‘sheera’, locals protested and raised slogans against the police and the government. After learning about the protest, Deeksha and Narendra arrived with others. The protest took an ugly turn when the crowd started pelting policemen with stones and set ablaze private and police vehicles.
An FIR was lodged at the Milak police station against 16 people, including Deeksha and Narendra, and 200 unidentified people under various charges, including an attempt to murder and rioting.
Narendra was arrested and Deeksha surrendered before the court. The accused were later charge-sheeted.