So much so, the state police is on the defensive and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was forced to summon BJP leaders and others involved in the incidents to Lucknow to discuss the issue.

Yogi Adityanath also called state home secretary and DGP Sulkhan Singh, and asked them to adopt zero tolerance towards such violence. The UP CM asked them to take action against guilty persons even if they were members of saffron outfits if they were involved in violence.

It would be worth mentioning here that in Saharanpur, led by local MP Raghav Lakhanpal, BJP workers took out a ‘shobhayatra’ in Sadak Dudhli village on April 20 to mark the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar without seeking permission from the district administration.

Violence broke out after members of the Muslim community pelted the procession with stones. BJP workers retaliated by setting shops on fire, damaged the divisional commissioner’s car and also attacked the residence-cum-camp office of Saharanpur senior superintendent of police, Luv Kumar.

After the CM took a “tough” stand on the issue, an FIR was lodged against BJP workers and eight people were arrested.

What could be more shameful and shocking than the fact that the wife of SSP Luv Kumar said that she had never experienced such type of terror in her life even when her husband was posted in sensitive districts.

Former CM Akhilesh Yadav alleged that he had reports from his party that the SSP’s family members saved their lives by taking shelter in a cowshed.

Akhilesh Yadav said that the rampaging mob led by BJP leaders smashed the CCTV cameras and destroyed the disk containing the footage of the violence. So much so the media persons covering the incidents too were not spared and attacked, said Akhilesh Yadav. He further said saffron scarves have become a licence to attack members of the police in UP.

In city of Taj, Agra, a controversy erupted last week when international models visiting Taj Mahal were asked to remove their saffron stoles before entering the monument.

The spokesperson of central as well state governments maintained that there was no ban on anyone going to Taj with a saffron dupatta or any other clothes.

Then again in Agra, vigilantes of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal staged a demonstration at the eastern gate of Taj Mahal on April 22.

“There is no restriction on colour, religious design or inscriptions on the scarves or dresses of visitors coming to see the Taj Mahal,” said Union minister for culture and tourism Mahesh Sharma responding to the incident.

Again on April 22, VHP and Bajrang Dal zeitgeists manhandled a circle officer at FatehpurSikri, 36 kilometres from Agra. Later in the evening, the protestors attacked the Sadar police station.

The agitators also torched the motorcycle of sub-inspector Santosh Kumar at Pratappura crossing. The incident was the fallout of a local dispute involving members of two communities.

Similarly in Mathura, also on April 22, a delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), led by Meghshyam Gautam who runs a car parking lot, met SSP Mohit Gupta to complain against the misbehaviour of sub-inspector Pawan Agnihotri.

However, the meeting took an ugly turn after a heated exchange of words and a BJYM activist was arrested.

In Meerut, a youth was assaulted by alleged activists of Hindu Yuva Vahini (HVY) on April 13 when he was going to drop his fiancé at her home.

On April 12, HYV activists barged into a house in Shastri Nagar locality of Meerut and dragged out a couple – a Muslim man and a Hindu girl – and reportedly roughed them up.

State convener of the Hindu YuvaVahini, PK Mall, however, denied involvement of the organisation in any of the incidents.

“No member of the Hindu Yuva Vahini is involved in any act of violence. It is a deliberate attempt to defame the organisation. All of a sudden everyone is claiming to be a member of the Vahini, especially those who are breaking the law. It is a conspiracy and police must look into it,” said Mall.

It would be worth mentioning here that Hindu Yuva Vahiniwas formed by Yogi Adityanath in 2002,and has branches all over the state.

Shocked by the incidents of attack on policemen and police stations by various saffron outfits and BJP workers, the delegation of UP IPS Officers Association met the chief minister Yogi Adityanath and apprised him of the incidents.

BJP state president and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, during his recent visit to Agra, did the balancing act when he said he would not permit harassment of party workers on one hand, nor would he allow lowering the morale of police officers. During his visit, he took up the issue of arrest of BJP activists with the local administration and asked them to conduct an impartial probe.

Shocked by the attack from opposition leaders like former chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati for allowing saffron lumpenism in the state, CM Yogi Adityanath has summoned the meeting of BJP leaders from those districts from where such incidents were reported in the media over the last one month. (IPA)