UP’s new BJYM office-bearer a history-sheeter, named in 16 cases, say police

The Kanpur Police on Tuesday said a newly appointed office-bearer of the Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, had 16 criminal cases against him in the district, including one of murder.

While the police said they were still collecting information about the status of the cases against BJYM state secretary Arvind Raj Tripathi, the BJP claimed only one case was still pending.

The SHO of the Kakadeo station in Kanpur, Kunj Bihari Mishra, confirmed that as per police records the “history sheet” Raj was opened in 2013, and added that the cases against him were lodged at different police stations in the district. According to the SHO, in a few cases he has been charged under the UP Control of Goondas Act and the Gangsters Act.

Mishra said police were collecting the current status of cases from courts.

However, state BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi claimed that the cases against Raj were lodged when he was in student politics. “Presently, just one case is pending against Arvind Raj. In other cases, he has been acquitted,” he said.