Muzaffarnagar riot cases against innocent will be withdrawn: Suresh Rana

Muzaffarnagar: Muzaffarnagar riots accused minister Suresh Rana has said that the cases against "innocent people" in connection with the 2013 violence in the district and its neighbouring places would be withdrawn by the Aditya Nath Yogi government after an inquiry.

Rana himself had been arrested for allegedly making provocative speeches in the 2013 riots and had been booked under the National Security Act.

At least 62 people were killed and more than 50,000 displaced in the communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and its neighbouring districts in 2013.

He also said the government would ensure improvement in the law and order situation in the state to prevent a "repeat" of the alleged Kairana mass exodus in other towns in western Uttar Pradesh.

The state minister for cane development and sugar mills was visiting Shamli district yesterday when he made the comments.

The alleged exodus of Hindus from Kairana made headlines last year when local BJP MP Hukum Singh released a list of more than 300 Hindu families who had purportedly fled the town over alleged threats and extortion by criminal elements belonging to a particular community.

The minister also said the state government is trying to ensure that sugar mills clear their dues to farmers as soon as possible.

The mills have been instructed to clear the existing outstanding amount within 120 days and new dues in 14 days, he said.