UP Govt. Withdraws Charges Against 81 Accused in 2015 Sadhu Violence Case, Except Ajay Rai of Congress

The sadhus must be released. Similar to a Congressman who later switched to the BJP.

Ajay Rai, the head of the Uttar Pradesh Congress, is the only one of the 82 accused that the Yogi Adityanath administration intends to pursue for the street violence that occurred during a sadhu march in Varanasi eight years ago.

A day before the eighth anniversary of the October 5, 2015 event, the state government submitted an application to the court of special judge (MP-MLA) Awanish Gautam asking to have the cases against 81 of the 82 defendants dismissed.

"The prosecution is unable to provide evidence against 81 defendants. Since the majority of the defendants are spiritual and religious leaders, continuing the trial could disturb public tranquility, a government representative said reporters under the condition of anonymity. He said, quoting from the affidavit presented to the Varanasi court, "It will also be time-consuming and a waste of resources."

On October 5, 2015, Swami Avimukteshwaranand, the current Shankaracharaya of the Jyotish Peeth Math, led a procession in opposition to the state-wide ban on the immersion of Ganesh idols in the Ganga at the conclusion of Ganesh Utsav that was put in place by the then-Akhilesh Yadav government. Many sadhus as well as Congress politicians Rai and Dayashankar Mishra on their own had joined the procession. Later, Mishra merged with the BJP.

According to eyewitnesses, a bull got out of control and chased several of the demonstrators around. Others believed in error that a baton charge had been initiated by the cops. This caused a rush that injured a number of people. Some criminals took advantage of the circumstance and resorted to violence, torching numerous vehicles, a police station, and a tonga stand.

Rai stated: "There were 82 accused, but since I am a leader of the Congress, the administration wants to keep bringing charges of violence and arson against me alone.