Double murder shifts focus to law and order in Budaun

Budaun: The brutal murder of two minor brothers here has become the talking point in the constituency ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, with the Samajwadi Party targeting the BJP over the law and order situation while the saffron party asserting that "rapid police action" resulted in the death of the main accused.

Located in western Uttar Pradesh, Budaun is considered the gateway to the Braj region from Rohailkhand.

Samajwadi Party, which is eyeing to reclaim the seat that it lost in 2019, has fielded Shivpal Singh Yadav as its candidate. The BJP is yet to declare sitting MP Sanghamitra Maurya as its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls.

While the political fervour was building up in the constituency, two minor brothers were hacked to death on Tuesday evening, sending shock waves across the district and the state.

The double murder has altered the political discourse in the constituency.

Terming the murder as a "failure of law and order", Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the lives of the two brothers could have been saved.

"The lives could have been saved had the police worked properly. They (the BJP government) can't hide their shortcomings, this encounter is not going to hide their failure," Yadav had said.

Shivpal Yadav also attacked the government over the incident. "The incident in Budaun is very saddening but the law and order of the government has failed totally. This becomes clear by incidents like these," Yadav had said.

Maurya, who visited the house of the deceased boys on Wednesday, assured full support to the family members and accused the SP of doing politics over the issue.

"I condemn the murder of the two minor boys. Our family of the BJP is with the grieving family. I would just say to those people who are doing politics on the issue that this is not the time to do so," she said.

"Samajwadi Party is doing politics on the issue because its so-called fort of Budaun was demolished by the people here in 2019. The SP candidate must have seen that no one was there to ask about him in Budaun today. This is why they are doing politics on the issue," Maurya said.

She was apparently referring to SP leader Shivpal Yadav, who first visited Budaun last week after his name was announced as the candidate for the Lok Sabha elections.

Shivpal Yadav's son and party leader Aditya Yadav had on Thursday met the family of the deceased brothers and also met the district magistrate and SSP to lodge a complaint against Maurya.

"BJP MP Sanghamitra Maurya made indecent, baseless and misleading remarks against our leader Shivpal Yadav. We have given a complaint to the DM and SSP in this regard. In the coming days, a team of our lawyers will file a defamation case also," Aditya Yadav had said.

While the leadership of the parties is busy attacking each other, the party cadre is trying to take their respective messages to the grassroots.

"The mere fact that anyone could commit such a crime proves that he has no fear of law in his mind," Saumitra Yadav, a local office bearer of the SP, said.

"The fear and faith in law can be instilled by ensuring that the accused are held guilty in a court of justice. Encounters do little to ensure this," he added.

BJP members on their part are reaching out to the public with the message of swift action.

"The police managed to catch the main accused shortly after the incident and he was killed in an encounter. The other accused was also arrested within 48 hours. This shows our commitment to law and order," Sarvesh Pandey, a member of the BJP's metropolitan unit, said.

The incident posed a major threat to the peace in the area as the incident involved people from both Hindu and Muslim communities.

Gauging the sensitivity of the situation, the police had sprang into action "Our first motive was to clearly identify and arrest the accused in the case but surely a bigger challenge was to ensure law and order in the area," Rakesh Singh, Inspector General (IG), Bareilly Range, said. Budaun Lok Sabha seat, which comprises a considerable number of voters from the minority community, was earlier considered a bastion of the SP.

The party had its hold on the seat from 1996 to 2014. This included four consecutive terms (1996-2004) of Saleem Iqbal Shervani and two terms (2009, 2014) of Akhilesh Yadav's cousin Dharmendra Yadav.

The BJP, however, turned the tables in the 2019 polls and fought on the bandwagon of ultra-nationalism in the aftermath of the Pulwama attacks.

BJP's Maurya defeated Dharmendra Yadav in 2019 polls, ending the party's over three-decade-long wait of tasting success from the seat. Before Maurya, Swami Chinmayanand won from Budaun in 1991 on a BJP ticket.

The polling in Budaun will be held on May 7 and the result will be announced on June 4.