Lucknow:

An FIR has been registered against 31 Samajwadi Party members for allegedly staging a protest near the Raj Bhavan without permission and engaging in a scuffle with police, officials said on Wednesday. The FIR was lodged at Hazratganj police station on a complaint by sub-inspector Bagesh Sharma, outpost incharge, Secretariat.

The protest was held on Tuesday against Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s “controversial” remarks on Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav. According to reports, Gupta called Yadav “tonti chor” (tap thief) during an interview with a TV channel.

A group of 15-20 SP workers, led by Payal Kinnar, began a silent protest at GPO Park around 3:15 pm on Tuesday against Gupta’s remarks. The protesters wore black armbands.

According to the complaint, Payal Kinnar, Juhi Singh, Sumaiya Rana, Bina Rawat, Suman Yadav, Vandana Chaturvedi and 25 other unidentified women workers were involved in the altercation. The complaint also alleged that SP’s women workers obstructed government work by disrupting traffic and Raj Bhavan’s security arrangements.

“Based on the complaint, we have booked the accused under Sections 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 121 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 132 (assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Hazratganj), Vikas Kumar Jaiswal, said.

“The FIR was registered on Tuesday. Further investigations and efforts to identify the remaining accused are underway,” he added.

Meanwhile, SP workers on Wednesday burnt an effigy of Rekha Gupta in Hapur for her “tonti chor” remark targeting Akhilesh Yadav.However, police seized the effigy and filed an FIR against 43 protesters.

“The burning of the effigy affected traffic movement. We have registered an FIR against 13 named and 30 unidentified protesters,” Kotwali police station SHO Manish Paratap Singh said.

A group of 15-20 SP workers, led by Payal Kinnar, began a silent protest at GPO Park around 3:15 pm on Tuesday against Gupta’s remarks. The protesters wore black armbands.

“Later, around 4 pm, SP leaders Juhi Singh (national president of SP women’s wing), Sumaiya Rana and Vandana Chaturvedi, along with 5-7 other women supporters, joined the protest at GPO Park. The group dispersed around 5 pm, stating they were returning to the SP office,” the complaint said.

However, they abruptly returned towards gate No. 2 of the Raj Bhavan, where they began raising slogans and staged a sit-in protest. When police attempted to pacify the group, a scuffle ensued, it said.

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