This Article is From Sep 20, 2013

BJP's Suresh Rana is first politician arrested for Muzaffarnagar riots

BJP leader Uma Bharti had warned Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of "more tension" if any leaders from her party are arrested.

Lucknow: BJP leader Suresh Rana, one of the politicians accused of inciting the Hindu-Muslim tension that left nearly 50 people dead and 40,000 in refugee camps in Muzaffarnagar, has been arrested today.

Mr Rana is a state legislator in Uttar Pradesh. His colleague, Sangeet Som, has been accused of circulating a fake video that escalated the unrest that resulted in the riots on September 7. BJP leader Uma Bharti had warned Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of "more tension" if any leaders from her party are arrested.

Politicians from the Congress and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have also been charged with delivering incendiary speeches at public meetings in the days before the riots tore through this part of Western Uttar Pradesh.

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