SP MP Iqra Hasan ‘detained’ after run-in with DIG in UP's Saharanpur

MEERUT: Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Hasan was briefly detained by Saharanpur police on Tuesday following an altercation with DIG Saharanpur range Abhishek Singh over investigation into the alleged murder of a youth from Shamli district. Four people accompanying the Kairana MP were later sent to jail on charges of disturbing peace and obstructing traffic.Hasan had gone to the DIG office along with the elderly mother of Monu Kashyap (25), who died last month after being found critically injured near a railway track in Shamli’s Kandhla area. The family alleged murder and demanded the inclusion of more accused in the case. Hasan alleged, “The DIG completely refused to listen to Vimalesh Devi’s grievances and abruptly got up and left the meeting. The woman came out crying with me.”DIG Singh denied the allegations. “The MP was heard patiently and informed about all legal proceedings in the case. Action is being taken as per due process, and two accused have already been sent to jail. No disrespect was shown to anyone, and all allegations being levelled are false,” he told The Times of India.After the meeting, Hasan and her supporters stood near the parking area outside the office, following which police detained her on allegations of obstructing traffic and took her to the women’s police station for around 10 minutes before releasing her.“This is pure dictatorship. We have all the recordings. There was no blockade, and we were only planning to submit a fresh application when police suddenly arrived and escorted us to the women’s police station,” Hasan said.The situation escalated later in the evening when Hasan reached Sadar police station after four people accompanying her, including the woman’s relatives and Hasan’s supporters, were jailed. “What kind of justice is this? An elderly woman and her relatives come seeking a fair inquiry into her son’s murder, and her relatives are sent to jail. I have asked police to either release them or arrest me as well,” she told The Times of India.At the time of filing this report, Hasan and her supporters were staging a sit-in protest at the police station. Many SP functionaries also gathered at the spot.On April 21, Monu Kashyap, a resident of Jasala village in Shamli district, was found unconscious near Panjokhra railway tracks with one leg severed. He died during treatment at Meerut Medical College the next day. Following a complaint by the family, police arrested two of Monu’s friends, Shubham and Sachin Kumar, in connection with the case. However, the family has been demanding that more names be added to the FIR.