Akhilesh govt withdraws cases against Tappal farmers

With a view to undoing his predecessor Mayawati's excesses against farmers of Tappal village who had staged violent protests against the construction of Yamuna Expressway, the Akhilesh Yadav government on Friday decided to withdraw the criminal cases lodged against the farmers.

The government's decision will bring relief to as many as 37 farmers who were targeted by the previous regime after they staged protests in Tappal village in Aligarh district in August 2010.

"The withdrawal of cases has been done in larger public interest as inquiries revealed that the charges leveled against the farmers were false and fabricated", an official spokesman told mediapersons in Lucknow.

"The decision was also in keeping with the commitment made by the chief minister during his visit to Tappal village last month", he added.

Earlier in April, the Akhilesh government had withdrawn cases against 24 farmers of the region.

It may be recalled that the protest demonstrations were undertaken in pursuance of the farmers' demand for adequate compensation for their land acquired by the state government for the purposes of building the Yamuna Expressway.

The farmers were also accused of tilling the Yamuna Expressway Authority land by tractors and had caused damage to property.

The Akhilesh government felt that the farmers were fighting for their rights.