Civic councillor, aides raze UP graves, booked

MEERUT: Four people, including a local municipal councillor, were charged under IPC sections for provocation with intent to cause riot and criminal intimidation after they allegedly razed a graveyard that complainants say was over a century old at Khurja in Bulandshahr district.
Police said the FIR came after Khurja resident Mohammed Saleem accused municipal councillor Arsheel Baudh, his father Vijay Baudh and two others of desecrating the graveyard.Purported videos of a bulldozer razing the graves were widely circulated on social media, causing tension among local residents.
Civic body was doing clean-up drive without cop nod: Probe
In his complaint, Saleem said, “On Friday, the municipal councillor brought a bulldozer and started destroying the graves. Our ancestors are buried here. The graveyard on Eidgah road is more than a century old.”
Khurja sub-divisional magistrate Durgesh Singh told TOI on Monday: “Teams from the district administration reached the spot and found that the land is notified as a graveyard. The municipal corporation told us that they were carrying out a cleanliness drive, which was unauthorised. Some graves were found damaged. A signboard has now been placed to identify the plot as a graveyard and proper fencing will be done to avoid a repeat of the incident.”
Circle officer (Khurja) Varun Kumar Singh said, “An FIR was registered under IPC Sections 295 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 153 (intent to cause riot), 504 and 506 (criminal intimidation). Preliminary probe findings suggest they were carrying out a cleanliness drive without informing local police or administration. The municipal corporation was not permitted to carry out such a drive. Probe is under way and further action will be taken accordingly.”