Did UP cop threaten voters? Akhilesh Yadav shares video, police deny charge

The purported video, shared by Akhilesh Yadav, shows a cop intimidating female voters with a revolver and asking them to return to their homes.

In Short

• Video shows UP cop pointing gun at female voters in Mirapur
• Akilesh Yadav urges poll panel to suspend the cop immediately
• Police refute allegations, say stones were thrown at cops

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday demanded suspension of a police officer in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar, accusing him of threatening locals with his service revolver and stopping them from voting during by-elections.

Muzaffarnagar Police, however, refuted the allegations made by Akhilesh Yadav and issued a clarification, stating that the police action in Mirapur area was in response to a dispute between two groups.

Sharing a video of the alleged incident, Akhilesh Yadav urged the Election Commission (EC) to immediately suspend the Station House Officer (SHO) of Kakarouli police station for obstructing the voting process.

"The Election Commission should immediately suspend SHO of Kakarwali police station in Mirapur because he is stopping voters from casting their ballots by threatening them with a revolver," the former Chief Minister wrote on X sharin the video clip of the incident.

The purported video shared by the Samajwadi Party chief showed a police officer, donning safety guards and a helmet, pointing his service gun at some female voters in Mirapur.

The women can't be heard confronting the cop, asking him why can't they go and vote. However, the cop, accompanied by many other police officials, forced them to return to their homes.

Police said that stones were thrown at cops who reached the location after receving information about a dispute between two groups.

"After receiving information about a dispute between two groups in Mirapur during the UP bypolls, a police team from Kakarwali police station was dispatched. Upon reaching the location, stones were thrown at the police team by the residents. Police used mild force to disperse the hooligans," the police statement said.

"Kakarwali police station SHO Rajeev Sharma, who was present at the spot, took action to maintain law and order in the region. During this time, no one was threatened. Action will be taken against all those who threw stones at the police," it added.

Polling for the by-elections in nine Assembly constituencies across Uttar Pradesh gained momentum after a slow start, with voter turnout reaching approximately 42 per cent by 3 pm on Wednesday.

The voting process began at 7 am in the constituencies of Katehari, Karhal, Mirapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur, and Kundarki and ended at 5 pm.

Earlier in the day, the Election Commission suspended around 4 police officers after the Samajwadi Party accused them of violating poll guidelines on checking of voters and stopping them from casting votes in the bypolls.

The Opposition party in Uttar Pradesh claimed that in some places the police personnel were checking the IDs of people and deterring them from voting.

According to officials, four cops on poll duty were suspended in Kanpur and Muzaffarnagar. In Moradabad, an unknown number of personnel on traffic duty were shunted.