Taking the moral high ground,UP Chief Minister and BSP president Mayawati suspended Shahnawaz Rana,MLA from Bijnore,from the party on Friday,after his aides,gunmen and relatives allegedly tried to rape two Delhi tourists at gunpoint in Muzaffarnagar on the night of June 21. What the government didnt say was that Mayawati had ordered the withdrawal of criminal cases against both Shahnawaz and his uncle Kadir Rana,now BSP MP from Muzaffarnagar. These cases were lodged after the uncle-nephew duo,along with family members and supporters,had set off large-scale arson and violence during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections,according to police records. Shahnawaz,who was then BSP candidate from Kairana,had allegedly assaulted Election Commission observer Maqsood Alam,while his uncle and others attacked the Muzaffarnagar District Magistrates residence,pelted stones,set on fire a police jeep,six private vehicles,a government bus and a police outpost at Sujadu under the Muzaffarnagar Kotwali police station. Mayawati,who became Chief Minister in 2007,and who also holds the Home portfolio,ordered withdrawal of cases against Shahnawaz and Kadir in what she called was the public interest. However,the trial courts rejected both applications. Shahnawaz challenged the trial courts order and the matter is still pending in the High Court. During polling on May 10,2004,Shahnawaz had levelled allegations of large-scale bogus voting at a polling booth at Shamli. Along with his supporters,he allegedly assaulted the observer. The police had to use lathis to disperse the mob and rescue the observer. Shahnawaz was arrested and booked on charges of assault and causing hurt to a public servant to prevent him from his duty. He was chargesheeted on June 12,2004,and the case is still pending in the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Kairana. As for Kadir Rana,on polling day,he,along with family members and supporters,surrounded the District Magistrates residence and torched a police jeep,six private vehicles,a government bus and a police outpost at Sujadu. A case was registered against 21 persons,including Kadir Rana,at the Kotwali police station on charges of attempt to murder,assault to deter public servant from discharge of his duty,mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy property,causing damage to public property,among others. This case,too,is pending in the court of the Additional District Judge in Muzaffarnagar. In the 2007 Assembly election,the BSP gave the ticket to Shahnawaz Rana from Bijnore and he won. According to Radhey Shyam,Assistant Prosecuting Officer in the Kairana court,an application for the withdrawal of the case against Shahnawaz was moved about two and a half years ago. It was dismissed after about a month,said the APO. Shahnawaz Rana challenged the order in the High Court. In the meantime,Kadir Rana,who was until then in the Rashtriya Lok Dal,joined the BSP. The party fielded him from Muzaffarnagar in the 2009 Lok Sabha election and he won. In March 2011,an application was moved for the withdrawal of his case. This application was also rejected,said Assistant District Government Counsel Yashpal Singh. When contacted by The Sunday Express today,Shahnawaz confirmed that his petition is pending in the High Court. On the attempted rape of two tourists,he said he had no role in the incident. Two of the arrested are my relatives but we live separately. Whatever they do,they will face (the consequences), the MLA said. Rana said he could not be held responsible for the actions of his police gunners after their duty hours. And that none of the four seized vehicles belonged to him. Anuradha Chaudhary,RLD general secretary,who had defeated Shahnawaz in the 2004 Lok Sabha election by 3.42 lakh votes,said she was not surprised that the Mayawati government had tried to close the case against Shahnawaz. She had inducted such people in her party,and she tried to help them,said Chaudhary.
