After violent protests by Dalit groups, the police in Uttar Pradesh blamed a lawmaker belonging to the party of Mayawati. Mayawati had declared support for the protests against a Supreme Court order that's seen as weakening a stringent law against atrocities on Dalits.
Yogesh Verma, who represents Meerut's Hastinapur in the state assembly, has been detained. He is the "main conspirator" of the violence, a senior police officer from Meerut reportedly stated.
Yogesh Verma was one of the 200 people detained. The 48-year-old lawmaker has a number of police cases, including that of attempt to murder, assault and rioting against him.
Mayawati had also recently stated that while her Bahujan Samaj Party is no longer in parliament, “our politics outside will force the Narendra Modi government to buckle under, our party will not sit quietly if their (Dalit) voices are not heard.”
