SP Candidate from Sambhal LS Seat Accused of Making Inflammatory Statements

Whether it is putting Azam Khan sahab and his family in jail, whether it is Shahabuddin sahab, Atiq Ahmad sahab, or Mukhtar Ansari sahab...

Samajwadi Party candidate from Sambhal Lok Sabha seat Ziaur Rehman Barq was on Monday booked for allegedly making inflammatory statements regarding gangsters-turned-politicians Atiq Ahmad and Mukhtar Ansari, officials said.

According to police, four to five unidentified people have also been named as accused in the case.

Addressing an election meeting in Sambhal on Sunday, Rehman had appealed to the people not to let the ''sacrifices of Atiq Ahmad, Mukhtar Ansari and other leaders go in vain''.

''There is no need to tell you about the sacrifices and problems during the time of the BJP. Whether it is putting Azam Khan sahab and his family in jail, whether it is Shahabuddin sahab, Atiq Ahmad sahab, or Mukhtar Ansari sahab... what happened with them cannot be forgotten,'' Barq told the gathering.

''I request you to take a vow to not let their sacrifices go in vain. The BJP has to be wiped out in the elections,'' he said.

Ahmed was gunned down in police custody in Prayagraj last year while Ansari died of cardiac arrest in a hospital in Banda last month.

Former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Azam Khan is currently lodged in Sitapur jail after being convicted in multiple cases.

Circle Officer, Sambhal, Anuj Kumar said Barq portrayed ''criminals as heroes'' in his ''objectionable speech''.

''Taking cognizance of the inflammatory remarks made by him, a case was registered against Ziaur Rehman Barq and four to five unidentified people under sections 171C (undue influence in elections), 153A (promoting enmity) and 188 (disobedience) of the Indian Penal Code at Kotwali police station in Sambhal,'' Kumar said.

Sambhal will go to the polls in the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls on May 7.

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