Rana Sanga row: ‘Unknown mob’ booked in attack on SP MLA’s home

Agra Police lodged an FIR against an “unknown mob” on 27 March, Thursday, a day after Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman's residence in Agra was attacked, allegedly by members of the Karni Sena over the lawmaker's remark on Rajput ruler Rana Sanga.

The FIR was lodged against ‘uncontrolled crowd of hundreds, name unknown’ under charges of rioting, attempt to murder, house trespass, and robbery on the complaint of Suman's son Ranjeet Suman at Hariparwat Police Station.

SP leader Ramgopal Yadav, who visited the MP at his house, alleged that the attack was pre-planned and authorities were aware of it, yet they could take no preemptive action.

The chief minister was present at an event nearby, but the administration failed to act in the matter, he said.

“The attackers came with bulldozers, sticks, batons and swords, yet they were not stopped. What conclusion should we draw from this? The attackers had the full support of the government," Yadav alleged.

The politician said that after Eid, his party will launch a protest against the attack, which he termed a “direct assault” on the ‘Pichchde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak [backward classes, Dalits and minorities]’.

Scores of activists from the Karni Sena, a caste-based group advocating ‘Rajput pride’, vandalised the lawmaker's house located near Hari Parvat Chauraha in Agra around 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 26 March. Multiple cars parked outside the house were damaged, chairs were broken and the house's glass windows were shattered.

Videos showed a handful of police personnel confronting the mob as it went on a rampage in the posh neighbourhood. A policeman got injured.

The incident took place on the day chief minister Adityanath was in the city for a public event.

A video of the Rajya Sabha MP surfaced recently in which he is purportedly heard saying that Rana Sanga was a traitor who brought in Babur to defeat Ibrahim Lodi. Rana Sanga, or Sangram Singh I, was the ruler of Mewar from 1508 to 1528.

Karni Sena chief Suraj Pal Singh Amu said the remarks insulted a hero who defeated the Mughals and demanded Suman and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav tender an apology.

"The Karni Sena workers should not take the law into their own hands, keep their protest democratic and extend support to police and the administration. As for the damage at the Rajya Sabha MP's home, we will provide him with new chairs and get windshields of the damaged cars replaced," he said in a video shared on social media.