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Samajwadi Party activists staged demonstrations across Uttar Pradesh on Monday against the arrest of independent member of the assembly Raghuraj Pratap Singh, popularly known as Raja Bhaiya, for his alleged involvement in an attempt to kidnap and murder a candidate in the local bodies election. More than 500 party activists were detained for resorting to violence, said a SP spokesperson.
Hundreds of SP workers took to the streets in major cities across the state, where they staged roadblocks, raised anti-Mayawati slogans and burnt effigies of the UP chief minister.
While the demonstrations largely remained peaceful, incidents of sporadic violence were reported from Moradabad and Barielly districts, where SP activists indulged in a free-for-all with the police. However, no one sustained any serious injuries.
Stung by the government's tough stand, SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary accused the Mayawati administration of "high handedness" and "terror tactics". "Our partymen staged peaceful demonstrations all over the state, but even that was not acceptable to Mayawati, who resorted to undemocratic ways by using brute police force on them.
As many as 11 persons including a SP MP and two other legislators, besides Raja Bhaiya were nabbed by the police.
"The arrest followed a first information report lodged against 13 persons including Raja Bhaiya, MP Shailendra, MLA Vinod Saroj and MLC Akshay Pratap Singh," said OP Sagar, superintendent of police, Pratapgarh.
In Lucknow, the SP workers were intercepted shortly after they stepped out of their city office in Qaiserbagh.