UP riots: NSA against 2 BJP MLAs lifted

LUCKNOW: In a major setback to the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh, the detention of two Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs, Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana, under the stringent National Security Act was revoked by the three-member advisory board of the Allahabad high court on Thursday.

Both Som and Rana were arrested on charges of fanning communal passions in Muzaffarnagar which led to riots in which 62 people were killed and over 50,000 displaced.

Muzaffarnagar district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma confirmed that the NSA was revoked after the advisory board refused to approve of the district administration's decision to book the two MLAs under the act. While Suresh Rana was arrested in Lucknow on September 20 and booked under NSA on September 26, Som was arrested on September 21 with NSA slapped on him on September 24.

The fact that NSA proceedings against five other accused in Muzaffarnagar riots were approved by the advisory board on November 2 has put a question mark over the seriousness with which the Muzaffarnagar district administration pursued the case against the two BJP MLAs. The five accused against whom the NSA proceedings were upheld included Vikram Saini and Mukkaram from Kawal and Ghanshayam, Radhey Shyam and Israr from Shamli.

The BJP has welcomed the decision of the advisory board. BJP state president Laxmikant Bajpeyi said the move was not unexpected as the party was convinced that the two MLAs were falsely implicated.