This Article is From Jan 19, 2017

BJP's Sangeet Som In Trouble For Using 'Riots Video' During UP Campaign

An FIR was registered against controversial BJP leader Sangeet Som for violating the poll code.

Meerut: Sangeet Som, the BJP's controversial lawmaker in Uttar Pradesh, has been accused of violating the poll code after the police last night found CDs in a car he was using to campaign for next month's election. Sources say the CDs have around three hours of footage, including "sensitive" references to the 2013 Muzafarnagar riots for which Mr Som faced charges earlier and was even jailed. It also allegedly has the politician's speeches on the lynching of a Muslim man in Dadri over rumours that he had beef in his house.

The police say Mr Som had taken permission to travel through villages in western Uttar Pradesh, but he had not been allowed to show videos.

Mr Som, 39, has denied any wrongdoing and said he was only showing a documentary. "I had permission to screen the documentary... reports in the media are false. Let it be investigated and the truth will come out," he said, claiming that the CD mainly has an account of the work he has done after the riots.

The police are examining the footage. Only footage approved by a certification body can be used during elections, they said.

Mr Som is among the politicians accused of a role in instigating riots that left over 60 dead and tens of thousands displaced in Muzaffarnagar in August and September, 2013.

The lawmaker, accused of making inflammatory speeches at a large gathering or Mahapanchayat, is currently out on bail. He is an accused in two riot-related cases.

Politicians from the BSP and Samajwadi Party are also accused in the riots.
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