ALLAHABAD: Four FIRs were lodged against Samajwadi Party leaders in three police stations of the city within 48 hours, following Tuesday’s violent protests after party chief Akhilesh Yadav was stopped in Lucknow from attending an event in Allahabad University.Reacting sharply to the police action on Thursday, SP leaders alleged that police lodged the FIRs at the behest of state government. SP district spokesperson, Daan Bahadur, said, “Police targeted SP leaders at the behest of the state government when our party members had gone to garland the Gandhi’s statue at Balson Crossing on Tuesday.”He said that the police action on innocent SP workers was an insult to democracy and demanded that FIRs be withdrawn without any delay. The protests erupted after SP chief and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav was stopped in Lucknow from boarding a flight for Allahabad to attend a function organised by the Allahabad University Student Union (AUSU) on Tuesday.Several SP workers and six policemen were hurt in the protests. The first FIR was lodged with Colonelganj police station on Tuesday and named Budaun MP Dharmendra Yadav, Phulpur MP Nagendra Singh Patel, UP party president Naresh Uttam, AUSU president Uday Prakash Yadav and former AUSU president and party spokesperson Richa Singh as accused among others. The second FIR was also lodged on Tuesday night with Georgetown police station against unidentified party workers for disturbing peace in the area and damaging public property.On Wednesday night, a named FIR was lodged against 11 SP members and 300 others with Civil Lines police. They were booked of blocking traffic on the flyover near Allahabad High Court , damaging barricades and tearing up posters.The fourth FIR was also filed with Georgetown police station on Wednesday against SP student leader Raghvendra Yadav and 20 others for allegedly assaulting a police officer near Balson Crossing. SP spokesperson Daan Bahadur said that both the party MPs were in Delhi to attend Parliament proceedings. SSP Nitin Tiwari, said, “Four FIRs have been lodged in connection with Tuesday’s protests by SP workers on different charges. Special police teams have been constituted to work on the case and police are scanning footage from CCTV cameras to collect evidence.”A senior police official, said, “Police teams have been conducting raiding suspected hideouts of the persons named in the FIR. Two students have also been detained for interrogation.”

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