BJP MLA Bhartendra, accused of inciting riots, was arrested from a court in Muzaffarnagar
A BJP MLA was arrested today as he appeared in an Uttar Pradesh court for a case against him over his alleged role in inciting the communal riots in Muzaffarnagar last month, in which nearly 50 people were killed.
Kunwar Bhartendra, the MLA from Bijnor, was arrested soon after he came to the Muzaffarnagar court.
He is the third BJP MLA, after Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana, to be arrested in connection with the riots. Bahujan Samaj Party legislator Noor Salim Rana was also arrested.
The politicians have been accused of making inflammatory speeches during public meetings, which vitiated the tense atmosphere following the killing of two Jats and one Muslim in village Kawal of Muzaffarnagar.
The BJP has demanded the withdrawal of what it calls false cases slapped at the instance of the state's ruling Samajwadi Party.
According to officials as many as 250 cases have been registered against 10,000 people in Muzaffarnagar and 4,000 in Meerut and Shamli.