A court in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, issued non-bailable warrants on Monday for several Hindutva activists and BJP leaders, including Uttar Pradesh Minister Kapil Dev Agrawal and Dasna temple priest Yati Narsinghanand, in connection with the Muzaffarnagar riots case.
The warrants were issued by Special Judge Devendra Faujdar of the MP-MLA court, which has scheduled October 29 for the framing of charges against the accused.
The court mandated that all defendants appear on the next hearing date. Among those present in court were former Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Sadhvi Prachi, former BJP MLA Umesh Malik, former MP Sohanvir Singh, and Lok Sabha MP from Muzaffarnagar, Harendra Singh Malik.
According to prosecution officer Niraj Singh, a total of twenty individuals, including Balyan, Sadhvi Prachi, Agrawal, Umesh Malik, Kansal, and Bhatendu Singh, are facing trial. He noted that while eight of the accused were present, twelve failed to appear.
The prosecution alleges that the accused participated in a panchayat meeting in Naglamador village, where they incited violence through their speeches in August 2013. The riots resulted in the deaths of over 60 individuals and displaced more than 40,000 people in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts.
The court’s actions underscore the ongoing legal ramifications of the communal violence that erupted over a decade ago.
