BJP worker’s death in alleged police lathi charge adds to unease in UP

The death of a BJP worker in Ghazipur following an alleged police lathi charge has provoked fresh outrage in Uttar Pradesh, exposing tensions not just between citizens and the police but also within the state’s political establishment.

The deceased, Siyaram Upadhyay alias Jokhu (35), was a resident of Rukundipur village. He succumbed to his injuries at around 3.00 am on Thursday, after allegedly being injured during a sit-in protest at Nonhara police station premises on Tuesday night. Eyewitnesses claimed police deliberately cut off power supply around 1.30 am before launching a baton-charge, leaving seven or eight people injured.

Upadhyay’s family has accused police of “brutally beating” him and demanded action against those responsible. His father Girja Upadhyay and sister-in-law Neetu Upadhyay said they want justice from the government and a formal case registered against the guilty officers.

Rajesh Rai Bagi, another BJP worker injured in the same alleged incident, insisted the protest was peaceful and centred on local grievances. “Siyaram’s sacrifice will not go in vain. The police administration will have to pay,” he said, adding that fear of reprisals had driven villagers into hiding until senior party leaders arrived.

Local BJP leaders, including district president Omprakash Rai, reached Rukundipur to console the family. Rai described Upadhyay as a “dedicated party worker” and promised that “all the demands of the family will be fulfilled by the party”. He demanded strict action against those involved, but took care to distance the BJP from the protest itself, calling it “a dispute between two individuals”.

The police, however, have denied any misconduct. Superintendent of police Dr Iraj Raja issued a video statement saying: “On 9 September, no lathi charge was carried out by police at Nonhara police station. Protesters had gathered there during a power cut. The allegation that a youth has died due to police action is under investigation. Post-mortem is being conducted, and further legal steps will depend on the findings.”

The Ghazipur incident comes just days after police in Uttar Pradesh faced criticism for a lathicharge on Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists, a move that sparked anger within the RSS students' wing. The recurrence of such clashes has raised uncomfortable questions about the state’s law-and-order apparatus, especially when ruling party workers themselves are at the receiving end.

The controversy unfolds against the backdrop of simmering unease within the Uttar Pradesh administration. For months, observers have noted signs of strain between chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya, who has repeatedly emphasised that the BJP organisation is “bigger than the government”, and raised concerns about reservation policies for outsourced jobs. He has also, on occasion, absented himself from key government meetings, which some read as veiled dissent.

Though party leaders such as state president Bhupendra Chaudhary have dismissed speculation of any leadership change, describing such talk as “media chatter”, Maurya’s remarks have kept alive whispers of factional unease.

Adding to this perception, minister Baby Rani Maurya recently faced an embarrassing episode in Agra when she convened a meeting at Vikas Bhawan to discuss farmers’ issues, but no officials turned up. After waiting nearly an hour, she left in anger, vowing to raise the matter with the chief minister. The no-show, whether bureaucratic indifference or a sign of deeper disaffection, has been interpreted by some as evidence of frictions within the state machinery.

The death of a grassroots BJP worker at the hands of a police force officially denying any lathicharge threatens to become more than a local law-and-order issue. It risks feeding into broader narratives of discontent: the resentment of party cadres, the strained relationship between the political leadership and the police, and the subtle but visible cracks within the state’s ruling establishment.

For Adityanath, already contending with murmurs of internal rivalry, the incident in Ghazipur could prove a sensitive test of both his grip on governance and his ability to keep the party united behind him.

With media inputs