Uttar Pradesh government on Monday transferred the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police of Mathura following the violence in the district that left 29 dead even as a probe is on into the clashes.
“#UPCM@yadavakhilesh instructions, DM/SSP Mathura has been transferred. New incumbents will join soon,” Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav tweeted.
District Magistrate Rajesh Kumar and SSP Rakesh Kumar Singh were transferred days after violence broke out when police tried to evict encroachers from Jawahar Bagh in Mathura.
Singh has been replaced by SP Jalaun, Babloo Kumar, an official release said. However, the name of the new district magistrate is yet to be announced. So far, 45 cases have been registered against 3,000 encroachers belonging to a cult — Azad Bharat Vidhik Vaicharik Kranti Satyagrahi — an outfit that claimed to owe allegiance to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Questions are being raised on why the police and administration continued to ignore the assembly of over 3000 armed civilians in the Jawaharbagh compound since the past 30 months, a negligence which resulted in such a disaster.
UP Director General of Police Javeed Ahmed said that 22 rioters died in the violence apart from the Station House Officer of Farah and Superintendant of Police Mathura City. Out of the 22, 11 died in the fire that the rioters had set to their own shacks built inside the compound, while 11 died in the police lathicharge subsequent to a blatant attack on the police force by the rioters from all sides.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea demanding a CBI probe into the recent violence in Mathura.
The apex court posted the matter for hearing on Tuesday.
