BJP MLA BOOKED FOR INCITING COMMUNAL VIOLENCE

The Uttarakhand police on Apr 30 booked BJP MLA Rajkumar Thukral for fanning communal violence in Udham Singh Nagar on Oct 2 last, in which four people were killed and 35 others, including 12 policemen, wounded. In the riots that followed, several shops were set ablaze and curfew was imposed for more than a week. “Civil judge Reena Negi directed the police to book Thukral on the basis of an application filed by one Suhel Ahmed,” said DIG, Nainital, Deepak Jyoti Ghildiyal, adding that the application was filed a few days after the communal violence broke out. Ahmed had alleged that Thukral, 45, had incited anti-social elements to fire at members of the minority community and burn their shops. Apart from the BJP MLA, 17 others were booked under similar charges. Thukral was elected from Udham Singh Nagar on Jan 30 this year. He has been booked on charges of murder, inciting violence, provoking communal attacks and indulging in loot.