Lucknow, June 16 (IANS) Seventeen people, including a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, were Wednesday booked for assaulting policemen and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel during violent protests against the closure of a railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah district a day earlier, officials said.
A criminal case has been registered against BJP leader Ashok Dubey and 16 others for Tuesday’s violence over the closure of the Farrukhabad railway crossing in Etawah, some 300 km from here.
Six policemen were injured when an angry mob led by Dubey, a former legislator, fought pitched battles with the police and RPF.
The 17 have been charged with rioting, unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty, breach of peace and criminal intimidation, among others.
‘The criminal case against the BJP leader and 16 others was registered on the complaint of Government Railway Police (GRP),’ District police chief M.P. Salonia told reporters in Etawah.
Police are yet to make any arrests in the case.
According to police, railway authorities decided to close the Farrukhabad railway crossing after an over-bridge was constructed over it.
However, locals claimed that the over-bridge was risky to pedestrians as it lacked a footpath.
On earlier occasions, authorities had to defer their decision to close the railway crossing because of protests.
