Ballia shooting case: BJP MLA says he’ll present ‘true account of incident’ before party leadership

After being called by BJP state chief Swatantra Dev Singh on Sunday, party MLA Surendra Singh, who had initially defended the main accused Dheerendra Pratap Singh alias Dablu in the Ballia shooting case, said he would present a true account of the incident before the leadership. The development came hours after the Special Task Force (STF) arrested Dheerendra Singh from Lucknow.

Surendra Singh, who was on his way to Lucknow on Sunday, said over the phone, “Yes, I have been called to Lucknow. The party’s state unit chief will ask about the incident that took place at Durjanpur village (in Ballia). I will present a true account of the incident. I will tell him about a series of incidents which led to the chaos during the meeting and then the unfortunate incident.”

On Thursday, Dheerendra Pratap Singh, who calls himself a BJP worker, allegedly shot a 46-year-old man dead in an open meeting in the presence of officials after a dispute over allocation of two fair price shops in Durjanpur village of Ballia.

On Friday, the BJP MLA, who represents Bairia assembly constituency in Ballia, had said that Dheerendra had fired in self-defence. He had claimed that had Dheerendra not opened fire, dozens of women of his family would have been killed in the incident.

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Surendra Singh on Saturday visited Revati police station in Ballia and demanded that an FIR should be registered based on the application moved by Dheerendra Singh’s female relatives who, he alleged, sustained injuries in stone-pelting during the Thursday incident. He also took them to the district hospital and got their medical examination done.

Surendra Singh on Sunday said, “I am carrying with me the medical reports of five women (Dheerendra’s relatives) who were injured in the stone-pelting incident. I will present it there (before the state unit BJP chief).”

He claimed that the true account of the incident was not being presented by the media. “If the media presented a true account, the women would get justice,” he said.

When he was asked for his comment on Singh’s arrest, the phone got disconnected. An aide of the state BJP chief too confirmed that Surendra Singh had been called by the party.

“Yes, he has been called for his outspoken remarks. The party isn’t happy with him,” the aide said. “Had he not fired from his licensed firearm, he and his family would have been lynched,” the MLA said.

BJP party leaders admitted MLA Surendra Singh to have a habit of passing controversial remarks. It isn’t clear if the party leadership was contemplating any action against him.

“Since the party expressed displeasure over his remarks, the MLA has been singing a different tune. He has since said that the law would take its course in case of those who violate it,” a party leader said.

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