Basti: Man with revolver caught at CM Yogi event; 4 policemen suspended for negligence

In a near miss, UP police on Thursday, apprehended a man allegedly carrying a revolver to an event in Basti district where UP CM Yogi Adityanath was to attend. The accused had arrived 45 minutes prior to Adityanath's arrival with his revolver and was immediately taken out of the auditorium. Four Policemen posted in Basti district have been suspended and reports on 3 policemen have been sent to the department.

7 Policemen suspended for negligence

"There was a VIP event of CM in Basti district. 45 minutes before his arrival, a man came to the auditorium with his licensed revolver. Circle Officer present on duty there saw him, he was taken out of the auditorium. His identity was ascertained," said SP Basti, Ashish Srivastava.

He added, " In the initial probe 7 Policemen, including 4 posted in Basti district, were found to be negligent. The four Policemen posted in Basti district have been suspended, reports have been sent to the SPs concerned regarding the remaining 3 Policemen. Departmental action will be taken".

Yogi's UP campaign

Gearing up for elections, Adityanath is currently participating in government programmes on 4-5 days in a week since October 1. He is also set to tour all districts to get the local pulse ahead of the elections. Moreover, Adityanath will also visit local BJP MLAs' homes and visit people's homes to know the impact of his government's schemes. The 403-seat UP assembly where Yogi rules with an iron-clad majority of 314 seats, is up for grabs in February 2022.

UP Polls 2022

With BJP fighting under the leadership of incumbent CM Yogi Adityanath, several fronts have cropped up to challenge the ruling BJP. Parties like AAP, Shiv Sena, Azad Samaj Party and JDU have announced that they will be contesting for the UP polls. While AIMIM and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party were eyeing an alliance with Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj, its chief Om Prakash Rajbhar has announced his support for the Samajwadi party.  SP chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav has stated that SP will only ally with smaller political parties for the 2022 Assembly polls, holding talks with Mahan Dal, NCP, SBSP. Mayawati has already announced that her party will fight polls alone in UP and Uttarakhand, while allying only with Akali Dal in Punjab.  Congress has aggressively campaigned under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi in the state, eyeing its solo return.

Moreover, in a last-ditch attempt, Yogi Adityanath also expanded his state cabinet inducting seven new ministers  taking the cabinet strength to 60. With caste equation in mind, Yogi inducted three SC ministers -  Sanjeev Kumar, Dinesh Khateek and Paltu Ram, three OBC ministers - Dharmvir Singh, Dr Sangita Balwant, Chatrapal Gangwar and the Brahmin face - Jitin Prasada. BJP also nominated 4 leaders - Sanjay Nishad, Gopal Anjan Bhurji, Virendra Gurjar and Jitin Prasada to the legislative council.