BJP's 'Return Gift to Rioters' vs SP's 'Custodial Torture' After Video Shared of UP Cops 'Beating Up Protesters'

Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, shared a video on Saturday showing UP policemen thrashing some men in prison. The men could be seen pleading for mercy while being beaten repeatedly with canes.

BJP MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi, on the other hand, had shared the same video with the caption “return gift for rioters.” His remark drew criticism on Twitter and from the opposition. Tripathi previously served as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s media advisor.

Such incidents, according to Akhilesh Yadav, would erode people’s trust in the justice system. “Questions should be raised about such police stations… UP is No. 1 in custodial deaths, it is a leader in human rights violations and abuse of Dalits,” the SP chief wrote.

Meanwhile, Tripathi seemed to have deleted his original tweet, but shared and spoke against the criticism he was receiving for it. In one such tweet, he reminded AAP leader Somnath Bharti of the ‘treatment he had received in UP after speaking against Adityanath’. He then challenged Bharti to ‘come to UP again’.

Bharti had faced an ink attack while on his way to highlight the ‘bad state’ of UP hospitals in 2021.

According to reports, the video was shot two days ago in a police station in Saharanpur, where protests and clashes erupted after Friday prayers over two suspended BJP spokespersons, Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, who made controversial remarks about Prophet Muhammad.

UP police in the state has also bulldozed the properties of certain accused in the violence, reports said on Sunday.

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