Four cases of serious nature, including murder, registered against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief minister Keshav Pratap Maurya have been taken back, according to a reply received by Right to Information activist Nutan Thakur.
In response to her query on the number of criminal cases pending against Maurya, Thakur received a reply from the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Kaushambi that four cases had been taken back, in one he had not been convicted, while information on two other cases was not fully available.
The sections of the Indian Penal Code applicable to the cases which have been taken back include, 147 (punishment for rioting), 295A (deliberate attempt to outrage religious feelings), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 504 (provocation to break public peace) and 302 (murder). All these cases have been taken back by the Prayagraj MP/MLA court.
One case filed under the Goonda Act against the BJP leader has been dismissed, while in another case, which also includes Section 302, he has been found innocent. Cases in which sufficient information is not found include those filed under 153A (promoting enmity between different religious groups) and 188 (disobedience for order promulgated by public servant).
This is the second reply that Thakur has received to the same query about the pending criminal cases against Maurya.
In January 2021, she was informed that five cases listed against Maurya were under consideration in the appropriate court. He had been acquitted in one case while another had been dismissed. There was no information available on the eighth case. Within a month, Thakur received the second, corrected reply on February 18, which has listed the changed status of these cases.
All these cases were filed between 1996 and 2013 at different police stations in Sirathu, Kaushambi.
In 2012-14, Maurya was elected MLA from Sirathu which is his birthplace.
In the 2014 elections, Maurya who is the party’s mascot for the OBC (Other Backward Castes) votes in the state, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Phulpur. He is currently a member of the UP Legislative Council and holds portfolios, among others, of food processing and public works department.
Thakur said, “It is extremely worrisome that the government has taken back such serious charges. However this is not the first time that this government has done so”.