Was Dalit woman killed for not voting for Samajwadi Party in UP bypolls? SP, BJP exchange barbs

A woman was found murdered in a field near Kanjara village on Wednesday morning following which her father lodged a complaint at Karhal police station levelling allegations against Prashant Yadav, a resident of Tapa ki Nagaria, of abducting his daughter. The Dalit man also alleged that his 23-year-old daughter was killed as she refused to vote in favour of the Samajwadi Party in the Karhal assembly bypolls.

Police in Mainpuri district on Wednesday arrested two persons accused of abducting and killing the woman.

In the FIR, the man alleged, that his daughter was abducted around noon on Tuesday and later poisoned to death by Yadav with the help of another person named Dr. Mohan Katheria, according to the FIR. "Both the accused Dr. Mohan Katheria and Prashant Yadav named in FIR have been arrested and further investigation is in progress," Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar said.

Politics erupts

The issue soon snowballed into a political controversy with the BJP and the SP trading barbs.

Raising concern over the incident, the BJP accused the SP of "creating an atmosphere of terror" in its bastion. "In Karhal, Samajwadi Party leader Prashant Yadav and his associates murdered a Dait girl just because she had refused to vote for the 'cycle' (SP's election symbol). In Mainpuri, the Saifai family and Akhilesh Yadav's goons are again trying to create an atmosphere of terror," the BJP's Uttar Pradesh unit posted on X and attached a video of the grieving father.

Meanwhile, SP president Akhilesh Yadav during a press conference in Lucknow alleged that the Election Commission was turning a blind eye and deaf ear to the complaints being raised by his party over BJP's alleged misuse of government machinery to tilt the bypolls in its favour. "This is a conspiracy to defame the Samajwadi Party by the BJP, which often engages in such activities. This has nothing to do with the SP," SP spokesperson Rajendra Choudhary said.