Sisauli: Farmer leader Mahinder Singh Tikait's elder son, Rakesh, was on Tuesday arrested over clashes between the supporters of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief and security personnel in Sisauli on Monday, the police said.
An arrest warrant has been issued against Tikait for allegedly hurling caste-based abuses at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati at a farmers' rally in Bijnore district on Sunday. Tikait's younger son, Surinder, has already been arrested.
"We have arrested Rakesh and Surinder over the violence in the village as the police went to arrest Mahinder Singh Tikait," Inspector General (Meerut range) V K Gupta told IANS.
Rakesh, also the BKU's spokesman, was arrested from the irrigation department guesthouse in Muzaffarnagar.
Tikait's enraged supporters on Monday fought pitched battles with security personnel as a house-to-house hunt was launched to arrest the farmer leader at Sisauli village in Muzaffarnagar, the BKU headquarters.
Over a dozen people, including a few policemen, were injured in the clashes. Eleven people have so far been arrested in this regard.
"Mahendra Singh Tikait will be arrested soon," Gupta said.
Chief Judicial Magistrate (Bijnaur) Bijendra Tyagi Monday issued an arrest warrant against Tikait for allegedly abusing Mayawati. The BKU president has been booked under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Atrocities (Prevention) Act.
Police sources said that several teams have been constituted to arrest Tikait, whose diatribe against the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief has brought to fore the predominant differences between upper castes and lower castes in western Uttar Pradesh.
In view of the situation in Sisauli, an alert has been sounded in all western Uttar Pradesh districts and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) units have been deployed around the town.
"The forces will remain deployed till the situation demands," Gupta said.
Meanwhile, Inspector General (Lucknow) Gurcharan Singh arrived in Muzaffarnagar Tuesday to oversee the situation.
"Singh has arrived in Muzaffarnagar, but he will not be going to Sisauli," Gupta added.
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