Serora shadow: FIR against Uma

Bhopal, Oct 31 (UNI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker Sankalp Pratap Singh alias Halke Raja had a first information report filed today against Bharatiya Jan Shakti (BJS) Founder-President and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti, alleging assault.

''A total of two FIRs were filed at the Chhatarpur Police Station against Ms Bharti, former Union minister Prahlad Patel and several supporters for beating up BJP workers, damaging vehicles, abducting and torturing party workers,'' the BJP's Malehra assembly constituency bypoll in-charge Arvind rpt Arvind Bhadoria told reporters here today.

BJP candidate Kapoorchand Ghuwara is fasting at Chhatarpur in protest against the ''terror tactics'' of BJS workers and in support of a demand for their arrest.

''Ms Bharti, Mr Patel, Ms Bharti's brothers Swami Prasad Lodhi, Harvansh Lodhi, the sadhvi's nephew Siddharth Lodhi and Narayan Kale were among nine persons named in the FIR based on the BJP complaint.

Ms Bharti is pushing Madhya Pradesh towards the casteist and violence-ridden politics of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,'' Mr Bhadoria added.

Alleging that Ms Bharti's sit-in was ''cheap drama,'' he said that the sanyasin was levelling baseles allegations against the BJP.

''Last evening, Ms Bharti slapped Mr Singh at Serora village after which irate lathi-wielding locals surrounded the BJS leader and her convoy. At that juncture, Ms Bharti threatened to shoot Mr Singh. Later, BJS workers began an assault and also damaged nine BJP vehicles,'' Mr Bhadoria said.

He alleged that Mr Patel, Mr Harvansh, Mr Swami and BJS workers abducted 22 BJP workers, took them into a forest and severely thrashed them. Nineteen workers escaped this morning and reached Serora while Vishambhar Singh Bhadoria, Kaushal Kushwaha and Vinay Tripathy are still missing.

''Ms Bharti captured three polling centres. Repolling should take place there,'' he added.

UNI AG-AC 2012